Related Federal Cases
- Osakwe Ismael Osagbue, Bankruptcy Court Embezzlement, MD 2025 · Michigan
- Curtis Lang, Embezzlement, Iowa 2017 · Iowa
- Osakwe Ismael Osagbue, Mail and Wire Fraud, Maryland 2024 · Michigan
- Northern Iowa Leadership Team Announced · Michigan
- Daniel Gingerich, Animal Welfare Act Violations, Iowa 2023 · Nebraska
Former CEO of West Michigan Nonprofit Sentenced to 70 Months in Federal Prison
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey announced today that Dr. Nkechy Ezeh, 61, of Kent County, Michigan, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for orchestrating a fraud scheme that stole $1.4 million in taxpayer and donor money intended for vulnerable preschool children.
Dr. Ezeh was also sentenced to a concurrent prison term of 60 months for evading income taxes. Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou, who imposed the sentence, characterized Ezeh as “a fraud and a thief,” described the scheme as “brazen and widespread,” and noted that Ezeh stole money intended for some of West Michigan’s most vulnerable children.
“Nkechy Ezeh’s greed is beyond reprehensible,” VerHey said. “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.
Dr. Ezeh – the 2018 West Michigan Woman of the Year, a two-time appointee to the State of Michigan’s Early Childhood Investment Corporation’s Executive Committee, and a tenured professor of education – founded Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC), a West Michigan nonprofit funded by the Department of Health and Human Service’s Early Head Start program, the U.S. Department of Education, and private donors.
As a result of the fraud, ELNC had to close its doors in 2023, many West Michigan preschools lost funding, and needy children lost valuable resources. ELNC also had to lay off its 35 employees without any 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.
Dr. Ezeh used the stolen money to fund her lifestyle, pay for a family member’s wedding, and to travel to Hawaii, Europe, and Africa. She placed her family members on a ghost payroll that caused ELNC to pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars for little or no work, and she used money mules to wire hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen money to her family in Nigeria.
She was sentenced to pay $1.4 million in restitution to the victims of the fraud and $390,174 to the IRS. Judge Jarbou also remanded Ezeh directly to prison to begin serving her sentence immediately. The case was investigated by HHS-OIG and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Stiffler is the prosecutor.
Key Facts
- State: Michigan
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
