A 40-year-old man who illegally resided in Houston has been ordered to federal prison after he allegedly bilked vulnerable people out of millions of dollars through a romance scam.
Leslie Chinedu Mba pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit false statements in immigration documents on Dec. 4, 2025.
He allegedly defrauded Americans out of over $4 million via a romance scam and business email compromise scheme.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner has now ordered Mba to serve 19 years in federal prison. Mba will likely be deported after the prison sentence.
“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 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.”
From April 2018 to December 2023, Mba and others inside and outside of the United States carried out business email compromise and romance scams targeting unsuspecting victims. The schemes began overseas, where co-conspirators gained unauthorized access to business email accounts and redirected payments to fraudulent bank accounts.
“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.”
Victims believed they were sending money to legitimate businesses, but Mba and others instead funneled the funds to accounts they controlled. Mba and others acted as money mules, opening or using existing bank accounts to collect and move proceeds from the fraud.
Additionally, Mba tried to obtain U.S. permanent residency through multiple fraudulent marriages after his initial application was denied and he was ordered to be removed from the country.
Four others had also previously pleaded guilty: Grace Morisho, 30, Rodgers Kadikilo, 30, Kristin Smith, 38, and Alexandra Golovko, 36, all of Houston. Morisho, Kadikilo and Smith received sentences ranging between 15 and 25 months, while Golovko received five years' probation.
Mba will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Alum prosecuted the case.