A United States District Court in Minnesota has rejected a bail request by convicted Nigerian fraudster, Ijeoma Mbonu Chanthavong, as the administration of President Donald Trump intensifies moves to deport her.
Court filings showed that Mbonu, who is currently in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security, was arrested in December 2025 for deportation following her conviction for conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
The Nigerian woman had pleaded guilty in April 2022 after investigators uncovered her role in assisting internet fraudsters, popularly known as Yahoo Boys, to launder proceeds of romance scams and business email compromise schemes through her US bank account to Nigeria.
Mbonu, who entered the United States on a B-2 visa in 2017, was said to have acted as a link between fraudsters and their victims, receiving illicit funds before transferring them to Nigeria. She later cooperated with US authorities, providing information against the syndicate in exchange for immigration relief.
She claimed the cooperation exposed her to grave danger, telling immigration officials that the fraudsters had threatened to kill her if she returned to Nigeria, a claim that led to the approval of her temporary work authorisation in June 2024.
However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents rearrested her on December 4, 2025, and subsequently issued a Final Administrative Order of Removal. Mbonu challenged the decision in court, arguing that her detention was unlawful and that her deportation could not proceed due to pending immigration applications.
In ruling on her habeas corpus application, Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan held that her money laundering conviction amounted to an aggravated felony under US immigration law, making her deportable and ineligible for bail, and ordered that she remain in detention pending her removal from the country.
