A Nigerian woman already sentenced to eight years in prison in the United States for her role in a romance scam faces a possible additional 10-year jail term after failing to report to prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has offered a $5,000 reward, approximately N6.7m, for information leading to the arrest of Emuobosan Emanuella Hall, 46, who is wanted for violating the conditions of her release on bond.
According to the US Department of Justice, Hall was indicted on October 23, 2026, for failing to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving her sentence.
She was sentenced in January 2026 to 96 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
The offences were linked to a romance scam in which victims, mostly older women, were deceived into sending money to fraudsters posing as generals, philanthropists and entrepreneurs living outside the United States.
Court documents showed that Hall and her co-defendant, Kenneth G. Akpieyi, used a company, Le Beau Monde LLC, to receive money from victims before transferring the funds to other financial institutions, including foreign banks.
Hall admitted responsibility for $851,207 in losses suffered by victims, while Akpieyi was found responsible for losses exceeding $3.5m. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2025.
Although Hall was ordered to report to a designated correctional facility by March 25, 2026, she failed to appear.
The US Department of Justice said GPS data from her monitoring device showed that her last known location was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on March 24, where the device stopped operating.
She had provided her probation officer with flight details for a journey to Minnesota, where she was expected to serve her sentence, but airline records showed that she did not board the flight.
US Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, David I. Courcelle, said Hall's failure to report demonstrated disregard for the judicial system.
“Hall was convicted for defrauding our vulnerable, elderly citizens out of their retirement funds. Her flight from the law demonstrates her utter disregard of our judicial system,” he said.
He added that authorities would continue pursuing Hall and anyone suspected of helping her evade prison.
The FBI said Hall, who was born in Nigeria on October 10, 1980, also uses the names Emuobosan E. Hall, Emuobosan Emanuella Erih and “Mobo”.
The agency listed her connections to Warri, Oleh and Abuja in Nigeria, as well as London, Gloucester and Croydon in England, and Atlanta, Georgia.
Hall faces a possible additional 10 years in prison if convicted of the failure-to-report charge, which would run consecutively to her existing sentence. She could also be fined up to $250,000.
The FBI urged anyone with information about her whereabouts to contact its tip line on 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit information through its website.
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