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Daniel Chima Inweregbu, a 40-year-old Nigerian, has admitted guilt in the United States (U.S) to charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and money laundering, linked to a romance scam that defrauded American women of over $405,000.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana announced the development on Thursday, August 28.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson stated that Inweregbu entered his guilty plea on August 21, 2025, before Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown.
Court records indicate that Inweregbu and his co-conspirators operated the scheme from July 2017 to December 2018, using a fabricated online identity, ‘Larry Pham,’ to target U.S. citizens on dating platforms and social media.
The group devised and carried out a romance scam to obtain money and property from multiple American women, including four identified victims, through false promises and misrepresentations.
After earning the trust of their victims, the conspirators persuaded them to transfer funds into domestic bank accounts under their control.
Authorities added that the stolen funds were subsequently laundered through intermediaries to conceal their origin and ownership.
“Inweregbu’s scheme resulted in actual and intended losses of over $405,000 to the victims,” the statement read.
“Thereafter, Inweregbu 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.”
Inweregbu could face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine on the fraud charge.
For the money laundering charge, he faces an additional potential 20-year prison term, three years of supervised release, and fines reaching $500,000. Mandatory assessment fees also apply.
His sentencing is set for December 4, 2025.
Simpson praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation for leading the investigation and recognized the assistance provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Department of State.
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