A 40-year-old Nigerian, Daniel Chima Inweregbu, has pleaded guilty in the United States to a $405,000 romance scam targeting several American women.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana confirmed the plea in a statement on Thursday. Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson said Inweregbu admitted guilt on August 21, 2025, before Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown.
According to court records, Inweregbu and his partners operated the scam between July 2017 and December 2018. They created a fake online identity, “Larry Pham,” to lure women through dating sites and social media.
“The group 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,” the statement read.
Authorities explained that once the victims were convinced of the fake persona, they were asked to transfer funds into bank accounts controlled by the fraudsters. The money was then laundered through several intermediaries to hide its source.
“Inweregbu’s scheme resulted in actual and intended losses of over $405,000 to the victims,” the statement said. “Thereafter, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators laundered the funds by conducting financial transactions designed to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds.”
For the fraud charge, Inweregbu faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. On the money laundering charge, he faces another 20 years, an additional three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $500,000, along with mandatory assessment fees.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 4, 2025.
Simpson praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its role in the investigation and acknowledged support from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Department of State.
