By Ghazali Ibrahim
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has offered a $5,000 reward, approximately ₦6.7 million, for information leading to the arrest of a Nigerian woman, Emuobosan Emanuella Hall, who failed to report to prison to begin serving an eight-year sentence in the United States.
The 46-year-old woman was sentenced to 96 months in January 2026 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud linked to a romance scam that defrauded several victims.
According to the FBI, Hall was arrested in Georgia and subsequently released on bond before pleading guilty to the offences.
She was ordered to report to a designated federal correctional facility in Minnesota by March 25, 2026, but failed to show up.
The FBI said data from her electronic monitoring device showed that her last known location was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on March 24, 2026, where the device stopped transmitting.
Although Hall had informed her probation officer that she intended to travel to Minnesota, airline records indicated that she did not board her scheduled flight.
A federal arrest warrant was issued on March 31, 2026, while a grand jury in New Orleans indicted her on October 23 over her failure to surrender for her prison sentence.
The FBI said Hall, who also uses the aliases Emuobosan E. Hall, Emuobosan Emanuella Erih and “Mobo”, was born in Nigeria and has links to Warri, Oleh and Abuja.
She also has reported connections to London, Gloucester and Croydon in the United Kingdom, as well as Atlanta, Georgia.
Investigations into the romance scam revealed that members of the syndicate allegedly approached victims through social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, posing as military generals, philanthropists and entrepreneurs.
They reportedly established romantic relationships with their victims before persuading them to transfer money under false pretences, including claims that funds were needed for charitable activities or sick relatives.
Hall admitted responsibility for $851,207 in losses suffered by victims, while her co-defendant, Kenneth G. Akpieyi, was found responsible for losses exceeding $3.5 million and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
If convicted of the additional charge of failing to report for her sentence, Hall faces up to 10 more years in prison, which could run consecutively to her existing eight-year sentence, as well as a fine of up to $250,000.
The FBI has urged anyone with information about her whereabouts to contact the agency through its tip line on 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit information through its official website.
