Nkechy Ezeh, a Nigerian-born education professor and former nonprofit administrator in Michigan, was found guilty of masterminding a $1.4 million fraud operation that diverted funds intended to benefit vulnerable preschoolers in underprivileged neighborhoods. Ezeh was sentenced to nearly six years in jail.

Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou sentenced Ezeh to 70 months in federal prison. In addition, she was given a concurrent 60-month term for tax evasion.

Through the Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC), a nonprofit she founded that offered meals, transportation, advocacy, and other services to preschoolers in underprivileged communities, Ezeh allegedly embezzled taxpayer and donor funds meant for low-income children, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Michigan.

Judge Jarbou called Ezeh "a fraud and a thief" and described the scheme as "brazen and widespread" at the sentence hearing.

The judge remanded her to prison right away and ordered her to return $1.4 million to the victims and $390,174 to the Internal Revenue Service.

"Nkechy Ezeh's greed is beyond reprehensible," U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey said, denouncing Ezeh's activities.

“She stole taxpayer and private-donor dollars meant for low-income children in our community. Instead of helping kids, she spent that money on herself,” VerHey said. “The stolen money could have supported hundreds of West Michigan children and their families.”

Prior to her conviction, Ezeh was well-known in Michigan. She served twice on the state's Early Childhood Investment Corporation Executive Committee, was selected West Michigan Woman of the Year in 2018, and was an education professor for a while.

According to the prosecution, she traveled to Hawaii, Europe, and Africa, paid for a family member's wedding, and maintained her lifestyle with the money that was pilfered. They further claimed that she employed money mules to send hundreds of thousands of dollars to family members in Nigeria and put relatives on a ghost payroll.

35 staff were abruptly laid off and support services for underprivileged children were lost as a result of the scam, which caused ELNC to close in 2023.

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