A 40-year-old Nigerian, Leslie Mba, has been sentenced to 19 years in a United States federal prison for his role in a $4 million romance scam and business email compromise scheme, U.S. authorities announced on Monday. Mba, who is not a U.S. citizen, is also expected to face deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner handed down the 228-month prison term after Mba pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to make false statements in immigration documents. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, Mba and his accomplices operated a transnational fraud scheme between April 2018 and December 2023, targeting individuals and businesses through romance scams and compromised business email accounts.
Prosecutors said the syndicate gained unauthorized access to business email accounts overseas and diverted legitimate payments into U.S. bank accounts under their control. Mba acted as a money mule, using bank accounts to receive and transfer fraudulent proceeds, resulting in losses exceeding $4 million.
U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei described the crimes as particularly disturbing, noting that romance scams prey on vulnerable victims, including senior citizens, and that Mba and his confederates committed the fraud while attempting to remain in the U.S. under false pretenses. “Now, Mba has prison to look forward to, followed by a one-way ticket back to Nigeria,” Ganjei said.
FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge, Jason Hudson, condemned the scheme, emphasizing that romance scams exploit trust and leave victims financially and emotionally devastated. Investigators also revealed that Mba attempted to secure U.S. permanent residency through multiple fraudulent marriages after his initial application was denied and he was ordered removed from the country.
Four other Houston residents—Grace Morisho, Rodgers Kadikilo, Kristin Smith, and Alexandra Golovko—had earlier pleaded guilty in connection with the case. Morisho, Kadikilo, and Smith received prison sentences of 15 to 25 months, while Golovko was sentenced to five years’ probation. Mba remains in custody pending transfer to a federal prison facility.
