A United States-based Nigerian academic, Nkechy Ezeh, has pleaded guilty to offences linked to a childcare funding scheme and now faces a possible combined prison term of up to 25 years, according to court documents cited in media reports and a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Ezeh, described in reports as a former professor at Aquinas College in Michigan, admitted in a United States district court in Michigan to charges connected to wire fraud and tax evasion tied to the Early Learning Neighbourhood Collaborative (ELNC), a Michigan-based non-profit that received government and donor funding for early learning initiatives.
According to the plea details reported by TheCable, prosecutors said the scheme ran from at least 2017 to 2023 and involved the diversion of about $1.4 million from ELNC through fraudulent invoices and other arrangements. Court records quoted in the report said Ezeh directed the organisation’s finance official, Sharon Killebrew, to generate “fictitious invoices” for goods and services that were not provided.
Reports has it that investigators alleged the funds were meant to support early learning programmes for children in low-income communities, and that the scandal contributed to the closure of the non-profit and job losses. An assistant United States attorney, Clay Stiffler, was quoted as saying, “The victims were mostly children of colour under the age of five years old, 72 percent of whom lived below the federal poverty level in some of the poorest neighbourhoods in Kent County, Kalamazoo, and Battle Creek.”
In the same report, Amy DeLeeuw, identified as ELNC’s president, condemned the alleged conduct, saying: “Her theft of millions of dollars intended for the most vulnerable of children was brazen, all-encompassing, and unconscionable.”
On possible punishment, TheCable reported that the wire fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, while the tax evasion count carries up to five years, making a potential total of 25 years if imposed consecutively.
BusinessDay also reported that Ezeh agreed to pay $1.4 million in restitution and nearly $400,000 in unpaid taxes, and that sentencing was scheduled for Wednesday, 13 May 2026.
The X post that circulated the update said Ezeh “has pleaded guilty to childcare fraud and now faces up to 25 years in prison,” adding that sentencing would follow court procedures.