Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson has announced that a Nigerian, Daniel Chima Inweregbu, age 40, pled guilty on August 21, 2025, before United States District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown to a more than $405,000 romance scam.
A statement by the Public Information Officer, United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana, United States Department of Justice, Shane M. Jones, said he pled guilty to two of the counts pending against him, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and using an assumed name to commit a mail fraud scheme, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1341, 1342, 1343 and 1349 (Count 1), and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(1)(B)(i), 1957, and 1956(h) (Count 12).
Inweregbu’s plea stemmed from his role in a lengthy romance scam targeting American citizens, reports AFP.
Between at least July 1, 2017, and December 16, 2018, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators devised and operated a “romance scam” whereby they sought to obtain money and property from multiple American women, including four victims, by means of false and fraudulent representations and promises.
Specifically, the statement said Inweregbu and his co-conspirators created profiles on social media and online dating sites using the alias “Larry Pham,” purportedly a middle-aged male, to attract middle-aged female victims.
The co-conspirators, including Inweregbu, used online messaging platforms and email to contact victims, introduce themselves, and appeal to victims’ longing for companionship. If the victim responded favorably, he and his co-conspirators began to cultivate a romantic relationship that emotionally attached the victims to “Larry Pham.”
“Once the relationship was established, the defendant and his co-conspirators, posing as Larry Pham, requested that victims send them money under various scams and ruses to domestic bank accounts they opened and managed.
“Inweregbu’s scheme resulted in actual and intended losses to the victims of over $405,000. Thereafter, he and his co-conspirators laundered the funds by conducting financial transactions using the proceeds of their wire and mail fraud scheme, designed in whole or in part to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds, by directing the victims’ funds through intermediaries,” the statement read in part
Inweregbu faces up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $250,000 as to Count 1. He faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $500,000 as to Count 12. He also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count.
Sentencing before Judge Brown has been scheduled for December 4, 2025, the statement added.
