A federal grand jury has indicted Emuobosan Emmanuella Hall, 46, of Atlanta, Georgia, for failing to report to federal prison to serve an eight-year sentence for a romance scam — and the FBI is now offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to her arrest. The indictment was returned on October 23, 2026, and announced on Wednesday, October 28, by David I. Courcelle, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans. Hall, a citizen of Nigeria and a U.S. permanent resident, is currently at large and a warrant has been issued for her arrest, prosecutors said.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of Louisiana

The disappearance at Atlanta's airport

Hall was sentenced in January 2026 by U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo to 96 months — eight years — in prison. The judge allowed her to remain on bond and ordered her to report to her designated Bureau of Prisons institution, in Minnesota, by March 25, 2026. She never reported. According to GPS data from her monitoring device, Hall's last known location was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on March 24, 2026, where the device ceased operating. She had given her probation officer her flight information to Minnesota, but airline records show she did not board that flight.

96 monthsHall's original prison sentence (January 2026)
$851,207Victim losses Hall admitted responsibility for
$3.5 million+Losses attributed to co-defendant Kenneth Akpieyi
25 yearsAkpieyi's prison sentence
$5,000FBI reward for information leading to Hall's arrest
10 yearsMaximum additional term if convicted of failing to report, to run consecutively

How the romance scam worked

Hall was first indicted in April 2024 by a federal grand jury in New Orleans for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. She was arrested in Atlanta and granted bond, and later pleaded guilty. According to the Justice Department, members of the conspiracy posed as generals, philanthropists or entrepreneurs living outside the United States, met victims — mostly older women — on Facebook, Instagram and similar platforms, gained their trust, and moved the conversations to WhatsApp or another encrypted platform. They then built romantic relationships and asked victims to send money for false reasons, such as charitable work or help for sick family members.

Prosecutors said Hall and her co-defendant organised a company, Le Beau Monde LLC, which they used to run the scam. Hall would deposit victim funds into accounts held in the company's name and then transfer the money to accounts at other financial institutions, including foreign banks. Hall admitted responsibility for $851,207 in losses to victims of the scheme.

The co-defendant is already serving 25 years

Her co-defendant, Kenneth G. Akpieyi, of Marietta, Georgia, was convicted after a four-day jury trial in July 2025 and sentenced by Judge Milazzo to 25 years in prison. Akpieyi was found responsible for victim losses exceeding $3.5 million. Unlike Hall, he was remanded into custody after his trial and is currently serving his sentence in the Bureau of Prisons.

What the U.S. Attorney said

"Hall was convicted for defrauding our vulnerable, elderly citizens out of their retirement funds. Her flight from the law demonstrates her utter disregard of our judicial system. We will continue to pursue Hall, and any person who may be facilitating her failure to appear to serve her federal prison sentence." — U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle

Why this matters for families

The method described in court documents — contact on Facebook or Instagram, a move to WhatsApp, and then requests for money for charity or a sick relative — is the standard pattern of romance fraud, which costs older Americans heavily every year. Prosecutors say the victims in this case were mostly older women, and the money taken included retirement funds. Families with elderly parents who are active on social media are urged to treat any online-only romantic contact who asks for money as a warning sign, whoever they claim to be.

What happens next

If convicted of failing to report, Hall faces a maximum of ten years in prison, to be served consecutively to her eight-year sentence, a fine of up to $250,000, supervised release of up to three years and a $100 mandatory assessment. The new case has been allotted to U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown, under Criminal Action No. 26-255, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Payne, Senior Litigation Counsel. The FBI New Orleans Field Office investigated the case. Anyone with information on Hall's location should call 1-800-CALL-FBI or go to tips.fbi.gov. The indictment is an allegation, and Hall's guilt on the new charge must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Source: ThisDay (FBI reward reporting)