The US government is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Emuobosan Emmanuella Hall, a 46-year-old Nigerian woman who failed to report to a federal prison to begin serving an eight-year sentence for her role in a romance fraud scheme.
The United States Attorney’s Office announced the reward on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, following Hall’s indictment for failing to surrender to the Federal Bureau of Prisons as ordered by a court. Hall, a Nigerian citizen and US permanent resident who lived in Atlanta, Georgia, is currently wanted by federal authorities.
According to US Attorney David I. Courcelle, a federal grand jury indicted Hall on October 23, 2026, for failing to report to prison. A warrant has also been issued for her arrest.
Hall was originally indicted in April 2024 in New Orleans on charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. She was arrested in Atlanta, released on bond and subsequently pleaded guilty to her involvement in the fraud scheme.
In January 2026, US District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced Hall to 96 months, equivalent to eight years, in federal prison. The judge allowed her to remain on bond until she was due to report to her designated Bureau of Prisons facility by March 25, 2026. She was assigned to serve her sentence at a prison in Minnesota.
However, Hall failed to surrender as instructed. According to investigators, GPS information from her electronic monitoring device placed her last known location at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on March 24, 2026. The device stopped transmitting information while she was at the airport.
Hall had previously given her probation officer flight details indicating that she would travel to Minnesota to begin her prison sentence. However, airline records showed that she never boarded the flight.
The case stems from a romance fraud operation that targeted women, many of whom were older, by exploiting their trust and personal relationships. Hall admitted responsibility for $851,207 in financial losses suffered by victims.
Court documents show that members of the criminal conspiracy created false identities, presenting themselves as military generals, philanthropists and successful entrepreneurs living outside the United States. They approached victims through social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, before building relationships and moving conversations to WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging services.
After gaining their victims’ trust, the fraudsters would establish romantic relationships and eventually request money under false pretences. Some claimed they needed financial assistance for charitable projects or sick family members.
Hall and her co-defendant, Kenneth G. Akpieyi, of Marietta, Georgia, used a company called Le Beau Monde LLC to facilitate the operation. Hall deposited money obtained from victims into bank accounts held in the company’s name before transferring the funds to other financial institutions, including banks outside the United States.
Akpieyi faced a separate trial and was convicted by a jury in July 2025 following four days of proceedings. Evidence presented in court established that he was responsible for more than $3.5 million in victim losses. Judge Milazzo sentenced him to 25 years in federal prison, and he was taken into custody following the trial. He is currently serving his sentence.
Commenting on Hall’s failure to report to prison, US Attorney Courcelle said she had defrauded vulnerable older Americans of their retirement savings. He also criticised her failure to surrender, saying authorities would continue pursuing her and anyone suspected of helping her avoid her prison sentence.
Hall now faces additional federal charges relating to her failure to report to prison. If convicted, she could receive a maximum sentence of 10 years, to be served consecutively to her existing eight-year sentence. She could also face a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release and a mandatory $100 assessment fee.
The new case has been assigned to US District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown under Criminal Action No. 26-255 “G”.
The FBI is asking anyone with information about Hall’s whereabouts to contact the agency. Authorities have announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to her arrest.
Anyone with relevant information can call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip through the FBI’s official website at https://tips.fbi.gov.
US Attorney Courcelle also commended the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office for its investigative work on the case.
