A Nigerian citizen has confessed to masterminding a multi-million-dollar international inheritance scam that targeted elderly or vulnerable Americans.
In a new press release, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says that 41-year-old Ehis Lawrence Akhimie has pleaded guilty to operating a transnational inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded over $6 million from more than 400 victims over the course of several years.
Authorities say that Akhimie and his co-conspirators sent letters to their victims in the US falsely claiming they were representatives of a bank in Spain. The scammers told the recipients that their relative had died in another country and left them with a multi-million-dollar inheritance.
The bad actors also told their victims that if they wanted to receive the inheritance, they would need to pay delivery fees, taxes and other bills to avoid any friction with the government.
The scammers then raked in the money and never followed through on any promise.
Akhimie faces 20 years behind bars after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
As stated by Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division,
“The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch will continue to pursue, prosecute and bring to justice transnational criminals responsible for defrauding US consumers, wherever they are located. This case is a testament to the critical role of international collaboration in tackling transnational crime.”
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