A
United States federal court has sentenced Nigerian-born former nonprofit chief
executive, Dr Nkechy Ezeh, to 70 months in prison for orchestrating a $1.4
million fraud scheme involving taxpayer and donor funds meant for vulnerable
preschool children.
The sentencing was announced on Wednesday by the
Office of the US Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, following
proceedings before Chief US District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou.
The court also imposed a concurrent 60-month
sentence for tax evasion and ordered Ezeh to pay $1.4 million in restitution,
alongside an additional $390,174 to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Ezeh, 61, from Kent County, Michigan, was the
founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Early Learning Neighborhood
Collaborative (ELNC), a West Michigan nonprofit organisation that provided
early childhood services to underserved communities.
She also previously served as an Associate
Professor of Education and Director of Early Childhood Education at Aquinas
College.
During sentencing, Judge Jarbou described her
conduct as that of “a fraud and a thief,” adding that the scheme was “brazen
and widespread,” involving funds meant for some of the most vulnerable children
in the region.
Prosecutors told the court that Ezeh diverted
funds meant for low-income families into personal use, including luxury travel
to Hawaii, Europe and Africa, as well as funding a family wedding.
She was also accused of maintaining a “ghost
payroll,” through which relatives were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars
for little or no work, and using intermediaries to transfer stolen funds to
family members in Nigeria.
US Attorney Timothy VerHey condemned the act,
describing it as “beyond reprehensible,” stressing that public and donor funds
meant for children were instead used for personal enrichment.
The nonprofit, which was funded by US federal
programmes including Head Start and the Department of Education, as well as
private donors, shut down in 2023 following the fraud scandal, resulting in job
losses and disruption of services to several preschools.
A co-conspirator, Sharon Killebrew, a former
bookkeeper at the organisation, had earlier been sentenced to 54 months in
prison for her role in the scheme.
US authorities said the case highlights ongoing
concerns about the abuse of federal grants and its impact on vulnerable
children and communities.