A Nigerian professor, Dr. Nkechy Ezeh, 61, has been sentenced to 70 months in federal prison by a United States district court in Michigan for orchestrating a fraud scheme that misappropriated $1.4 million in taxpayer and donor funds meant for vulnerable preschool children. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey in a press release on May 13, 2026.
Ezeh, a resident of Kent County, Michigan, also received a concurrent 60-month prison term for evading income taxes. Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou, who imposed the sentence, described Ezeh as "a fraud and a thief" and characterized the scheme as "brazen and widespread," noting that the stolen money was intended for some of West Michigan's most vulnerable children.
Judge Jarbou ordered Ezeh to pay $1.4 million in restitution to the victims of the fraud and $390,174 to the Internal Revenue Service. Additionally, Ezeh was remanded directly to prison to begin serving her sentence immediately.
Prosecutor Condemns Ezeh's Actions
"Nkechy Ezeh's greed is beyond reprehensible," VerHey stated. "She stole taxpayer and private-donor dollars meant for low-income children in our community. Instead of helping kids, she spent that money on herself. The stolen money could have supported hundreds of West Michigan children and their families. Judge Jarbou's sentence was perfectly appropriate."
Ezeh, who was named the 2018 West Michigan Woman of the Year, served two terms on the State of Michigan's Early Childhood Investment Corporation's Executive Committee and was a tenured professor of education. She founded the Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC), a West Michigan nonprofit funded by the Department of Health and Human Services' Early Head Start program, the U.S. Department of Education, and private donors. ELNC provided meals, transportation, funding, advocacy, and other services to children in preschools located in underserved communities.
Impact of the Fraud
As a result of the fraud, ELNC was forced to close in 2023, leading to the loss of funding for many West Michigan preschools and valuable resources for needy children. The organization also had to lay off all 35 employees without notice. Sharon Killebrew, ELNC's former bookkeeper and Ezeh's co-conspirator, was sentenced in November 2025 to 54 months in federal prison for her role in the scheme.
According to a sentencing memorandum from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Ezeh used the stolen money to fund her lifestyle, pay for a family member's wedding, and travel to Hawaii, Europe, and Africa. She placed family members on a ghost payroll, causing ELNC to pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars for little or no work, and used money mules to wire hundreds of thousands of dollars to her family in Nigeria.
The memorandum also highlighted that, although the direct victims included ELNC's donors, the federal government's Early Head Start Program, the U.S. Department of Education, and three major Michigan charities, the people most affected were the children and their families who lost the support ELNC once provided. These were mostly children of color under five years old, with 72% living below the federal poverty level in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Kent County, Kalamazoo, and Battle Creek.
"This case underscores the seriousness of misusing federal grant funds for personal gain," said Special Agent in Charge Thomas Ethridge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. "Our commitment to protecting the integrity of HHS programs remains steadfast, and we will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to uphold these standards and ensure that violators are held accountable."
The case was investigated by HHS-OIG and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Stiffler serving as prosecutor.
