The U.S. authorities have declared a fugitive Nigerian convicted of wire and romance fraud, Emuobosan Emanuella Hall, wanted for failure to report to the Bureau of Prisons to serve a sentence.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, in a statememt attached with mugshot of Ms Hall on April 15, said, “We need your help: Emuobosan Emanuella Hall pled guilty for her role in a romance scam and promised she would show up to serve her time late last month. She didn’t.”

Ms Hall, 45, a U.S. permanent resident residing in Atlanta, Georgia, was declared wanted on April 14 after a U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Phillips Currault signed a complaint and issued an arrest warrant, citing her refusal to report to the Bureau of Prisons to serve a jail term. 

Before she was declared wanted in early April, Ms Hall had been sentenced to eight years in prison by U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo for her role in a romance scam. However, she is currently at large, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on April 14.

Citing a criminal complaint, the U.S Department of Justice said Ms Hall was charged in April 2024 by a federal grand jury in New Orleans with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

“She was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, and was granted bond. Ms Hall subsequently pleaded guilty. In January 2026, U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced HALL to 96 months in prison. Judge Milazzo permitted HALL to remain on bond and ordered her to report to her designated Bureau of Prisons institution to serve her sentence by March 25, 2026. However, HALL did not report as ordered,” U.S. Department of Justice said

Ms Hall’s last known location was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on March 24, 2026, where the device ceased operating, according to GPS data from her monitoring device. She had provided her probation officer with her flight information to Minnesota, where she was designated to serve her sentence.

However, airline records show that Ms Hall did not board that flight. Phone records suggest that she travelled to Dulles Airport outside of Washington, D.C.

According to U.S. Department of Justice, Ms pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud mostly older women in a romance scam. Her co-defendant, Kenneth G. Akpieyi, of Marietta, Georgia, was convicted after a four-day jury trial in July 2025 and was sentenced by Judge Milazzo to 25 years in prison. 

While Ms Hall had admitted responsibility for $851,207.00 in losses to victims of the scheme, Mr Akpieyi was found to be responsible for victim losses exceeding $3.5 million. Mr Akpieyi was remanded in custody after trial, and currently serving his sentence in custody of the Bureau of Prisons.

Ms Hall faces a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years of imprisonment to be served consecutively to her prior sentence if convicted for failure to serve her earlier prison sentence for fraud. She may be fined up to $250,000, and receive a term of supervised release of up to three years.