Nkechy Ezeh, an associate professor of education, has pleaded guilty in a US district court in Michigan to charges of wire fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion worth $1.4million.
Ezeh, a former executive director at Early Learning Neighbourhood Collaborative (ELNC), admitted to conspiring with others to defraud a US government-funded organisation.
According to the plea agreement, she admitted that “from at least 2017 through 2023, she conspired with Sharon Killebrew and others to devise a scheme to defraud and obtain $1,400,000” from ELNC, a Michigan-based nonprofit that received funding from the US department of health and human services and private donors.
Court records show that Sharon Killebrew, ELNC’s Director of fFinance and Administration, played a central role in the scheme by generating and approving fraudulent invoices at Ezeh’s direction.
“As part of the conspiracy, Defendant directed Sharon Killebrew… to generate approximately $470,100.00 in fictitious invoices for goods and services never received by ELNC and submit them for approval,” the court documents said.
The plea agreement further states that Killebrew kept a portion of the diverted funds, while “the remainder was transferred to Defendant, PONA Consulting (Defendant’s limited liability company), and other individuals at Defendant’s direction”.
Prosecutors said Ezeh also concealed conflicts of interest by failing to disclose her involvement in Early Years Coalition (EYC), another Michigan nonprofit linked to the scheme.
The court documents state that although EYC received more than $227,000 in grant payments, it “did not operate preschools in the six months it was operational,” and instead, Ezeh “caused EYC to pay $212,658.84 to herself, PONA Consulting, and other individuals and entities at her direction for work they did not perform”.
Ezeh further admitted to establishing Global Open Learning and Development Preschools (GOLD), another entity used in the scheme. According to prosecutors, GOLD was incorporated using stolen identities and was never registered as a tax-exempt organisation.
“GOLD was never registered as a nonprofit organisation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,” the court records said, adding that Ezeh caused GOLD to receive fraudulent payments for services never rendered.
In addition to the fraud scheme, Ezeh admitted that she deliberately failed to pay federal income taxes on proceeds derived from the conspiracy.
“Defendant knew that she had tax due and owing each year for tax years 2017–2022 and also knew that she was legally obligated to file truthful income tax returns,” the court documents said.
Prosecutors added that she “willfully attempted to evade and defeat income tax due and owing” by misappropriating funds and concealing income through multiple entities and associates.
The unpaid tax liability for the period was put at $390,174.
As part of the plea, Ezeh agreed to forfeit $1,193,900. She also agreed to pay full restitution to ELNC and the Internal Revenue Service, with final amounts to be determined at sentencing.
The wire fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment, while the tax evasion charge carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison, in addition to fines and supervised release.
