A Nigerian man named Uchenna Christian Nlemchi has been given a 51-month prison sentence in the United States. He must pay back over half a million dollars and a big fine for his part in a scam involving romance and business emails.

Nlemchi was brought from Hungary to the U.S. last year. There’s no early release in the federal prison system.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and FBI’s Raul Bujanda shared the news on June 6, 2024.

The scam started in 2015 when someone tricked a 56-year-old woman in New Mexico into thinking he was in love with her. They convinced her to send money for fake business needs.

Nlemchi opened a bank account in his name in September 2015 and another in the name of a fake business. The woman sent him over $375,000 from her savings and loans.

In late 2015, a German person trying to buy a condo in Miami was scammed, too. They sent money to the New Mexico woman, who then sent over $200,000 to Nlemchi.

Nlemchi quickly took out and moved over $868,000 that was put into the fake business account. He left the accounts when he knew the bank was investigating.

Nlemchi was studying in the U.S. when he was arrested in 2017. He fled to Mexico, then Brazil, and back to Nigeria before being caught in Hungary in 2023.

In February 2024, Nlemchi admitted guilt to wire fraud and money laundering charges.

After prison, Nlemchi must serve three years of supervised release and may face deportation.

The FBI in Albuquerque and local police worked on this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Peña is handling the prosecution.