Nigerian gets 19-year jail term in US over $4m romance scam

A Nigerian national, Leslie Mba, has been sentenced to 19 years successful a United States national situation for his engagement successful a large-scale romance fraud and concern email compromise strategy that caused losses estimated astatine astir $4 million.

Mba, 40, who is not a U.S. citizen, is besides expected to beryllium placed successful deportation proceedings aft completing his jailhouse term.

The condemnation was delivered by David Hittner, a justice of the U.S. District Court, who ordered Mba to service 228 months successful prison.

The condemnation followed Mba’s blameworthy plea to charges of conspiracy to perpetrate ligament fraud and conspiracy related to making mendacious statements successful migration documents.

The ruling was announced connected Monday successful a connection from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

Prosecutors said that betwixt April 2018 and December 2023, Mba worked with respective accomplices successful an planetary fraud web that targeted some individuals and companies done online romance scams and hijacked concern email accounts.

Investigations revealed that members of the radical unlawfully accessed firm email sy...