Nigerian-Born Fraud Convict Declared Wanted in US After Disappearing Ahead of Eight-Year Sentence

U.S. authorities have issued a federal arrest warrant for Nigerian-born fraud convict Emuobosan Emanuella Hall after she failed to report to prison to begin serving an eight-year sentence in a romance scam case, escalating her legal exposure with the possibility of an additional decade behind bars.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana confirmed that the warrant was issued on April 14, 2026, after Hall failed to surrender as ordered.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Phillips Currault authorised both the complaint and arrest warrant following her failure to report to custody.

Hall, a U.S. permanent resident, was sentenced in January 2026 but did not appear at the Bureau of Prisons facility by her March 25, 2026 deadline.

According to Public Information Officer Shane Jones, she has since “evaded custody.”

Court records show Hall was originally indicted in April 2024 in New Orleans for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, along with money laundering conspiracy charges.

She was arrested in Atlanta, released on bond, and later entered a guilty plea.

“In January 2026, U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced her to 96 months in prison but permitted her to remain on bond with instructions to report… by March 25, 2026,” court filings stated.

Investigators say Hall’s monitoring device last transmitted from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on March 24, 2026, before going offline.

Although she provided flight details to Minnesota, records indicate she never boarded, while phone data suggests movement toward Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C.

Hall admitted involvement in a romance fraud scheme targeting mostly elderly women. Her co-defendant, Kenneth G. Akpieyi, was convicted at trial and is serving a 25-year sentence.

The operation allegedly relied on impersonating high-profile figures online and transferring victims from social media platforms to encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp, where they were manipulated into sending money.

Authorities say funds were routed through Le Beau Monde LLC and multiple bank accounts, including international transfers.

Hall admitted losses totaling $851,207, while Akpieyi’s portion exceeded $3.5 million.

U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle said prosecutors would aggressively pursue her, stating her failure to report reflects “an utter lack of respect for the law.”

Officials warned that if convicted of failure to surrender, Hall could face up to 10 additional years in prison, plus fines, supervised release, and mandatory assessments, to run consecutively with her existing sentence.

The FBI’s New Orleans Field Office led the investigation, while federal prosecutors continue efforts to locate her.

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