An illegal alien from Nigeria living in Houston has been sentenced to 19 years in federal prison for his involvement in a $4 million fraud scheme.
Leslie Chinedu Mba, 40, 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 ordered him to serve 228 months behind bars, according to a Department of Justice news release.
Prosecutors detailed how Mba and co-conspirators inside and outside the United States ran business email compromise and romance scams from April 2018 through December 2023. The schemes targeted individuals and businesses, with scammers overseas hacking business email accounts to redirect payments to fraudulent bank accounts controlled by Mba and others. Victims thought they sent money to legitimate businesses.
Mba and accomplices served as money mules, opening or using bank accounts to collect and launder the funds.
The fraud caused more than $4 million in losses.
Additionally, after authorities denied Mba’s initial residency application and ordered his removal, he pursued lawful permanent residency through multiple fraudulent marriages, prosecutors said.
Four Houston-area co-defendants previously pleaded guilty: 30-year-old Grace Morisho, 30-year-old Rodgers Kadikilo, 38-year-old Kristin Smith, and 36-year-old Alexandra Golovko. Morisho, Kadikilo, and Smith received prison terms of 15 to 25 months. Golovko got five years of probation.
“Romance scams are among the lowest and most despicable form of fraud because they prey upon the lonely and vulnerable, and disproportionately victimize senior citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
“These online scams Mba and his friends perpetrated jeopardized the livelihood of family-run businesses, the ability of elderly individuals to retire, and exploited the trust that fuels our economy. Even worse, Mba and his confederates committed these crimes while attempting to remain in our country under false pretenses by deceiving immigration authorities. Now, Mba has prison to look forward to, followed by a one-way ticket back to Nigeria.”
“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.
Mba faces federal deportation proceedings after his sentence. He remains in custody pending transfer to a Bureau of Prisons facility.
The FBI Houston office investigated with help from the Houston Police Department. Information came from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
