US: Nigerian National Jailed for Romance Scam Defrauding Multiple Americans

A Nigerian man, Daniel Chima Inweregbu, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison in New Orleans for orchestrating a long-running romance scam that targeted multiple U.S. citizens. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown after Inweregbu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, use of a false identity to commit fraud, and money laundering.

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced the sentencing in a Department of Justice statement on December 11, 2025. Inweregbu, 40, was arrested in the United Kingdom and extradited to the United States in July 2025 to face the charges.

In addition to prison time, Judge Brown ordered Inweregbu to serve three years of supervised release, pay a $100 special assessment, and provide restitution of $166,400 to the victims. Court documents describe the scam as a “romance scam,” in which perpetrators feign romantic interest to gain victims’ trust and then exploit that trust for financial gain.

From July 2017 to December 2018, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators targeted several American women, creating social media and online dating profiles under the alias “Larry Pham,” a fictitious Canadian-Vietnamese man. They established romantic relationships with the women and then persuaded them to transfer money to accounts controlled by the conspirators. The scheme caused actual and intended losses exceeding $405,000.

The investigation revealed that Inweregbu and his co-conspirators also laundered the stolen funds through financial transactions designed to conceal the origin and ownership of the money.

U.S. Attorney Simpson commended the FBI for its investigation and highlighted support from the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and the Department of State. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, led the prosecution.