A Nigerian citizen has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for his involvement in a romance scam that targeted several U.S. citizens over multiple years, according to an announcement from Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson. Daniel Chima Inweregbu, 40, of Lagos, Nigeria, received the sentence from United States District Judge Nanette Jolivette Brown after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
Inweregbu was arrested after traveling from Nigeria to the United Kingdom and subsequently extradited to the United States in July 2025 to face charges. In addition to imprisonment, Judge Brown ordered three years of supervised release following his sentence, a $100 special assessment fee, and restitution payments totaling $166,400.
Court documents described the “romance scam” as a scheme where perpetrators feign romantic interest online to gain victims’ trust and then exploit that relationship for financial gain. The fraudulent acts included convincing victims to transfer money or valuable items and sometimes inducing them unknowingly into further fraudulent activity.
Between July 2017 and December 2018, Inweregbu and co-conspirators used fake social media profiles under the alias “Larry Pham,” presenting themselves as a middle-aged Canadian-born Vietnamese man seeking companionship. They contacted women through online messaging platforms and email, developing emotional relationships before requesting money through various schemes sent to domestic bank accounts they controlled.
The Factual Basis detailed that actual and intended losses exceeded $405,000 among four identified victims. After obtaining funds from victims, Inweregbu and others laundered the proceeds by moving money through intermediaries in an attempt to conceal its origins.
“U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter and expressed appreciation for the great support provided by United States Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and the United States Department of State,” according to the press release. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg led the prosecution.
