Daniel Chima Inweregbu, a 40-year-old Nigerian, has pleaded guilty to multiple fraud charges in the United States.
Gatekeepers News reports that the charges included conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and using an assumed name to commit a mail fraud scheme.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Inweregbu played a role in a lengthy romance scam targeting American citizens between July 2017 and December 2018.
The DOJ explained that he and his partners used online messaging platforms and email, to contact victims, introduce themselves, and appeal to victims’ longing for companionship.
The statement added, “If the victim responded favorably, INWEREGBU and his co-conspirators began to cultivate a romantic relationship that emotionally attached the victims to ‘Larry Pham.’”
“Once the relationship was established, the defendant and his co-conspirators, posing as Larry Pham, requested victims send them money under various scams and ruses to domestic bank accounts they opened and managed.”
Authorities revealed that the fraudulent operation caused losses of more than $405,000.
The DOJ further noted, “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.”
The U.S. government said Inweregbu could face serious penalties: “INWEREGBU faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $250,000 as to Count 1. He faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a fine of $500,000 as to Count 12. He also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count.”
Sentencing has been set for December 4, 2025, before Judge Brown.
This is not Inweregbu’s first conviction. In December 2020, a federal high court in Lagos sentenced him to 18 months in prison (with an option of a ₦300,000 fine) for a romance scam case.
He was also ordered to refund “the sum of $15,000 in favour of the United States Consulate being refund of part of the money he had unlawfully benefitted.”
