GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Celebrated Nigerian-born scholar and nonprofit executive Dr. Nkechy Ekere Ezeh has agreed to plead guilty in federal court after admitting she laundered more than $1.4 million and evaded hundreds of thousands of dollars in U.S. taxes.
Ezeh, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of the now-defunct Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on December 17 and formally entered a plea agreement on Friday, December 19, following her arraignment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
Court records show Ezeh pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion, admitting she used ELNC funds to finance personal travel, including trips to Hawaii, Liberia, and Nigeria. Prosecutors say she wired the majority of the stolen money overseas, potentially to purchase property in Nigeria.
Federal filings further reveal Ezeh conspired with her former bookkeeper, Sharon Killebrew, to defraud ELNC and its donors, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Early Head Start program and private contributors. Ezeh instructed Killebrew to generate fictitious invoices and funnel money to herself, Killebrew’s company, and other entities under Ezeh’s control.
In one instance, prosecutors say Ezeh directed Killebrew to incorporate a nonprofit using stolen identities to further conceal the scheme.
Killebrew was sentenced earlier this year to 54 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax charges involving $1,170,935 in embezzled funds. She was also ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in restitution and will serve two years of supervised release after her incarceration.
The ELNC board of directors welcomed Ezeh’s plea, calling it a critical step toward accountability.
The millions of dollars taken from ELNC forced the organization to close its doors and deprived children in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Battle Creek’s poorest neighborhoods of essential early childhood services.
ELNC, a Grand Rapids-based nonprofit, provided early childhood education, meals, and transportation for children from low-income families. Court documents show the organization served more than 400 children in its final year and nearly 8,000 children over its lifetime before closing in 2023.
Under the plea agreement, Ezeh has agreed to pay $1.4 million in restitution and approximately $390,000 in unpaid federal taxes covering the years 2017–2022.
Ezeh is scheduled to formally enter her guilty plea on January 14, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou in Lansing.
While tax evasion carries a maximum sentence of 5 years, the wire fraud charge alone exposes Ezeh to up to 20 years in federal prison.
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