On January 13, U.S. Court Rules Against Nigerian Fraudster Ijeoma Mbonu After Confirming She Can’t Magically Wire Herself Out of Jail — Now Faces Deportation

A federal court in Minnesota has refused to grant bail to Nigerian national Ijeoma Mbonu Chanthavong, who is currently facing deportation following a conviction for international money laundering.

Listen to how the content creator who goes by the YouTube handle 'African Black Gold' described her ordeal with a mix of pigeon.

The Nigerian woman entered the U.S. in 2017 on a B-2 visa and has since given birth to a child in the US. She acted as a liaison between two 'Yahoo Boys' in Nigeria and their victims, often individuals and businesses targeted for romance scams and business email compromise schemes. Her involvement was significant: she used her bank account to collect fraudulent funds from victims. Then she transferred the ill-gotten funds from her U.S. account to Internet fraudsters in Nigeria.

Ms. Mbonu, who is currently detained by Homeland Security and facing deportation in December 2025, had pleaded guilty in April 2022 to conspiracy to commit international money laundering after U.S. authorities became aware of her criminal activities and charged her in federal court.

After pleading guilty to international money laundering conspiracy, Ms. Mbonu cut a deal in October 2022 with U.S. authorities to snitch on the fraudsters in exchange for her continued stay in the U.S.

She informed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that the deal had placed her in danger, claiming the 'Yahoo Boys' were outraged by her betrayal and intended to kill her if she ever returned to Nigeria. As a result of her cooperation, Ms Mbonu’s application for employment authorisation to remain in the U.S. was approved in June 2024.

However, ICE later detained her after concluding that her conviction rendered her deportable under U.S. immigration law.

The relief was short-lived when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents re-arrested Ms. Mbonu on December 4, 2025, for deportation over her prior conviction for international money laundering.

A court order requiring ICE to justify her detention, before the U.S. District Court for Minnesota on December 29, 2025, including a demand for her release. 

While ICE was still entangled in the bureaucratic delays of processing her removal, Mbonu subsequently filed an asylum claim while in custody and also sought legal relief through a habeas corpus petition, arguing that her detention and planned deportation were unlawful. Suing the U.S. attorney general, Pamela Bondi, DHS secretary Kristi Noem, ICE, and other key government officials. She claimed Nigeria would not accept her return and asserted that her life could be at risk if she returned to the country due to threats from the fraud network she helped expose.

On December 22, 2025, ICE issued a Final Administrative Order of Removal (ERO) for Ms. Mbonu’s deportation to Nigeria.

Federal officials maintained that her 2022 conviction constituted an aggravated felony, which bars her from bond eligibility and makes her subject to mandatory detention. The government also noted that her plea agreement clearly stated the immigration consequences of her guilty plea.

‘The defendant understands that pleading guilty may have consequences with respect to her immigration status, including removal or deportation,’ said the plea agreement Ms. Mbonu signed back in 2022.

On January 13, the U.S. District Court ruled against Mbonu, stating that her conviction meets the criteria for an aggravated felony and that she is therefore deportable. The court denied her request for bail and dismissed her habeas petition without prejudice.

The decision marks a significant setback for her efforts to remain in the U.S. despite her prior cooperation with federal investigators.

YAME Digital