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.
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.