A Nigerian national has been sentenced to 97 months in prison for his role in a transnational inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded more than 400 victims of more than $6 million, said the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami.

Ehis Lawrence Akhimie, 41, was a member of a group that sent personalized letters to elderly Americans, falsely claiming they were entitled to a multimillion-dollar inheritance from a deceased family member overseas, according to court documents filed in Miami federal court.

Akhimie and his co-conspirators lied to victims, telling them they had to send money for "delivery fees, taxes, and other payments" to receive their inheritance. Victims who sent money never received any funds, say federal prosecutors.

Akhimie was sentenced last Thursday in Miami federal court.

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