Nigerian businessman Joseph Nantomah, popularly known as “The Black Mentor,” has been sentenced to four years in a United States prison for his role in a $2.7 million investment fraud scheme that targeted Nigerian immigrants and members of his church.
The 49-year-old was also ordered to pay $2,762,798.37 in restitution to his victims and will serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison term. He also faces possible deportation after serving his sentence.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Nantomah defrauded at least 39 people of $2,762,798.37 between May 2020 and December 2024.
Nantomah entered the United States in 2016 on a visitor’s visa. He later developed an online profile portraying himself as a successful real estate investor and adopted the nickname “The Black Mentor.”
The DOJ said he used conferences and training programmes, including events branded as “Wealth Flow,” to attract people interested in building wealth in the United States.
He presented himself as an experienced entrepreneur and used the classes to persuade participants to invest money in his supposed real estate business. Investigators found that he did not have a legitimate real estate business or the expertise he claimed to possess.
Nantomah primarily targeted Nigerian immigrants and people connected to his church. According to prosecutors, he used their shared background and their interest in opportunities in the United States to gain their trust before persuading them to transfer money to him.
He promised investors substantial returns, but instead used much of the money to finance his personal lifestyle and maintain the image of wealth he had created online.
The DOJ said victims’ funds were spent on private jets, luxury vehicles, expensive jewellery and a yacht.
Nantomah also used the money to promote his public image. Prosecutors said he paid for an honorary doctorate for himself and his wife and spent money to have celebrities attend his conferences.
His public profile states that he was born on December 31, 1976, in Borokiri, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. It also claims that he founded a project management training programme in Lagos through which he trained more than 3,000 bankers from financial institutions across Nigeria.
At his sentencing, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman said the scale and duration of the scheme justified a substantial prison sentence.
The judge noted that the fraud “went on for a long time, caused substantial loss, and dramatically impacted the lives of numerous victims.”
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice as an investment fraud involving dozens of victims and millions of dollars in losses.
