Authorities are searching for Emuobosan Emanuella Hall, a Nigerian and U.S. permanent resident, who is now considered a fugitive after evading her eight-year prison sentence for fraud. Hall, 45, failed to surrender to prison, prompting a federal arrest warrant issued on April 14, 2026, authorized by U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Phillips Currault. U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle confirmed Hall’s status as a fugitive.
Hall was expected to report to a Minnesota prison facility by March 25, 2026, but did not appear. The FBI’s New Orleans office has intensified efforts to locate her. GPS tracking indicated her last known whereabouts at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, where her device ceased transmitting on March 24, 2026. Although she had informed her probation officer of her flight to Minnesota, records reveal she did not board the plane. Further investigation suggests her movements led to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C.
The charges against Hall stem from her involvement in a complex romance scam that targeted elderly women. The operation involved creating false personas as military officers and businessmen on social media platforms, then transitioning victims to encrypted messaging apps. Hall admitted to causing losses of over $851,000. Her co-conspirator, Kenneth G. Akpieyi from Georgia, faced trial in 2025 and received a 25-year sentence, linked to $3.5 million in fraudulent activities.
