A 40-year-old Nigerian national, Leslie Chinedu Mba, who was living illegally in Houston, was sentenced Thursday to 228 months—nearly 19 years—in federal prison for orchestrating romance scams and business email compromise (BEC) frauds.
U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced the sentence in a Department of Justice press release. Mba had pleaded guilty on December 4, 2025, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit false statements in immigration documents. U.S. District Judge David Hittner imposed the term, after which Mba, a non-U.S. citizen, faces deportation proceedings.
The schemes, running from April 2018 to December 2023, defrauded victims of over $4 million. Conspirators posed as romantic interests or legitimate businesses to trick mostly vulnerable elderly Americans into wiring money to accounts they controlled. Mba and others acted as money mules, opening or using bank accounts to launder the proceeds.
“Out of all the frauds perpetrated by Leslie Mba and his co-conspirators, their weaponization of romance scams to deliberately target vulnerable and elderly Americans is most disturbing,” said FBI Houston Special Agent in Charge Jason Hudson. “Romance scams cruelly manipulate trust, callously exploit the fear of loneliness, and leave victims both financially devastated and emotionally shattered. The FBI will continue to combat fraudsters whose schemes leave a wake of misery behind.”
Mba also pursued U.S. permanent residency through multiple sham marriages after his initial application failed and he was ordered removed from the country. He remains in custody awaiting transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
Four Houston co-conspirators had previously pleaded guilty: Grace Morisho, 30; Rodgers Kadikilo, 30; Kristin Smith, 38; and Alexandra Golovko, 36. Morisho, Kadikilo, and Smith got 15 to 25 months each; Golovko received five years’ probation.
The FBI investigated with help from the Houston Police Department; Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Alum prosecuted.
