A federal jury in Kansas City on Monday, December 8, convicted two U.S. citizens of Cameroonian origin for their roles in an international conspiracy to fund and direct violent separatist operations in Cameroon, including kidnappings, ransom schemes, and the construction and use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other weapons of war.
After a trial that began on December 1, jurors found Francis Chenyi Sr., 52, of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Lah Nestor Langmi, 49, of Buffalo, New York, guilty on multiple counts related to providing material support to armed groups in Cameroon’s conflict-hit Northwest Region. Both men were convicted of conspiracy to provide material support intended to kill, kidnap, and maim abroad, as well as conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) outside the United States. They were also found guilty of participating in an international money-laundering scheme to route U.S. funds to separatist fighters.
Chenyi was additionally convicted of a separate count of conspiring to provide material support to use a WMD abroad.
“Supporting illegal conduct half a world away”
U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Price said the convictions demonstrate that the Justice Department will pursue those who commit or enable violent crimes beyond U.S. borders.
“As the verdict indicates, whether you’re committing a crime locally or — as in this case — supporting illegal conduct half a world away, when you conspire to violate federal law, we will hold you accountable,” Price said.
The case marks one of the most significant U.S. prosecutions to date related to the Cameroon Anglophone conflict, which has claimed thousands of lives since 2017.
FBI: Conspiracy included kidnappings, ransom payments, and arms procurement
FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen Cyrus of the Kansas City Field Division said the evidence showed that the plot involved both financial support and direct operational guidance to separatist fighters.
“The guilty verdict brings to close a conspiracy by a group of U.S. citizens of Cameroonian origin to support a plot that, among other acts, included kidnapping Cameroonian civilians and holding them for ransom,” Cyrus said.
“Their actions also included providing equipment, supplies, and weapons to a separatist movement for the purpose of carrying out attacks against the government of Cameroon and its personnel.”
Third defendant pleaded guilty
A third defendant, Claude Ngenevu Chi, 43, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty on November 19, 2025, to one count of conspiring to provide material support to use a WMD abroad. He awaits sentencing alongside Chenyi and Langmi.
Kidnapping of traditional ruler and Cardinal Tumi
Evidence presented at trial detailed a series of actions that prosecutors described as direct coordination of violent operations in Cameroon.
On or around November 5, 2020, Langmi sent an audio directive to separatist fighters encouraging them to kidnap a prominent traditional leader, Fon of Nso (Sehm Mbinglo II), the Paramount Fon of Nso, whose movements he had been tracking. Hours later, fighters abducted the leader and Cardinal Christian Tumi, a globally respected Catholic cleric who was traveling with him.
Prosecutors said Chenyi provided the interrogation questions for both captives and authorized peer-to-peer financial transfers to the kidnappers to further the operation.
Chenyi was also involved in ransom negotiations involving family members abducted in Cameroon, communicating with Langmi to coordinate payments from individuals living abroad.
Funding IED construction and weapons procurement
The trial revealed extensive communication between the defendants and armed separatist groups requesting funds for explosives and weapons.
- Co-conspirators repeatedly sought money for IED components, and Chenyi approved and funded these requests.
- The defendants coordinated with Cameroon-based operatives to train fighters in IED construction and deployment.
- Communications showed Chenyi and Chi personally approving funds around December 3, 2020, for multiple IEDs to enforce a lockdown before elections.
- Langmi worked with an unindicted co-conspirator to advance the development of both IEDs and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) in Cameroon.
- Langmi also attempted to coordinate attacks near the 2021 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament and other locations in Cameroon’s Northwest Region in 2022.
Money laundering across borders
According to prosecutors, the men used encrypted messaging apps, peer-to-peer payment platforms, and cryptocurrency accounts to transfer money from the United States to armed groups in Cameroon. The funds were used to support plots involving kidnappings, IED attacks, and targeted violence against government personnel.
Swift verdict after extensive evidence
The jury deliberated for approximately two hours and 24 minutes before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark.
Potential sentences
UnderUnder federal law, both Francis Chenyi and Lah Nestor Langmi face significant prison terms following their convictions. Each man could receive up to 15 years in federal prison for the conspiracy to provide material support charge, as well as up to 20 years for participating in an international money-laundering conspiracy connected to violent plots abroad.
Claude Ngenevu Chi, who pleaded guilty earlier in the proceedings, also faces a potential sentence of up to 15 years for conspiring to provide material support intended for the use of a weapon of mass destruction outside the United States.
These penalties represent the maximum sentences allowed by Congress. The final sentences will be determined by the court, which will weigh federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors once the U.S. Probation Office completes its presentence investigations.
Prosecution and investigation
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean T. Foley and Joseph M. Marquez, with support from the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
It was investigated by the FBI Kansas City Field Division.
