0
0
Inweregbu was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and the use of an assumed name to carry out a mail fraud scheme, in violation of Title 18 of the United States Code, Sections 1341, 1342, 1343 and 1349. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Sections 1956(a)(1)(B)(i), 1957 and 1956(h).
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced the sentencing in a statement issued by the Department of Justice on Thursday, December 11, 2025.
The charges stemmed from Inweregbu’s role in a lengthy scheme that targeted American citizens through online romance scams.
Inweregbu was arrested after travelling from Nigeria to the United Kingdom and was subsequently extradited to the United States in July 2025 to face the pending charges.
In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Brown ordered three years of supervised release, payment of a $100 special assessment fee, and restitution of $166,400.
According to court documents, a “romance scam” involves feigning romantic intentions toward a victim, gaining their trust and affection, and then exploiting that relationship to commit fraud. Such schemes may include gaining access to victims’ money, bank accounts, credit cards, passports, email accounts or national identification numbers, persuading victims to transmit things of value, or inducing them to unknowingly participate in financial fraud against third parties.
Between at least July 1, 2017, and December 16, 2018, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators devised and operated a romance scam aimed at defrauding multiple American women, including four identified victims born between 1965 and 1976. The conspirators created fake profiles on social media and online dating platforms using the alias “Larry Pham,” whom they portrayed as a middle-aged, Canadian-born Vietnamese man.
Using online messaging platforms and email, Inweregbu and his co-conspirators contacted victims, introduced themselves under the false identity and appealed to their desire for companionship. Once a victim responded positively, the conspirators cultivated a romantic relationship that emotionally attached the victims to the fictitious “Larry Pham.”
After establishing trust, the conspirators requested money from the victims under various false pretences, directing the funds to domestic bank accounts they opened and controlled.
According to the factual basis of the case, the scheme resulted in actual and intended losses exceeding $405,000 across the four identified victims.
The proceeds of the fraud were later laundered through financial transactions designed to conceal the nature, source, ownership and control of the funds, often by routing the money through intermediaries.
U.S. Attorney Simpson commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its investigative work and expressed appreciation for the support provided by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Department of State. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Ginsberg, Chief of the Public Integrity Unit, prosecuted the case.
