Illegal alien, wife who scammed elderly, others out of more than $3 million sentenced to 15 years following investigation by ICE Houston

HOUSTON — An illegal alien from Nigeria and his wife have both been sentenced for operating a nationwide fraud ring that targeted elderly victims and other vulnerable populations using romance scams and other financial schemes.

The investigation that exposed and dismantled the scheme was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Houston.

Darlington Akporugo, a 47-year-old illegal alien from Nigeria, and his wife Jasmin Sood, a 37-year-old Houston resident, were sentenced June 24 to 188 months and 121 months in prison, respectively, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. Akporugo pleaded guilty earlier this year on Feb. 28, while Sood pleaded guilty Dec. 17, 2024. Both must also serve three years of supervised release following their sentences and are required to pay full restitution of $3,123,073.

“Romance scams and other financial schemes like this exploit our nation’s elderly and vulnerable populations out of their hard-earned retirement savings and other critical funding that they need to survive,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz. “As a result, they are often left emotionally devastated and financially ruined with limited options for recovery once the money has been laundered out of the U.S. Thanks to the courage of the victims in this case who came forward quickly to report it to law enforcement, we were able to successfully track down the two criminals responsible and hold them accountable before they could take advantage of additional victims.”

At the hearing, four victims testified about the couple’s persistent lies and false promises, which led them to send large sums of money. One victim told the court how the pair coerced her into buying a luxury vehicle and renting a mansion for them. Authorities arrested the couple while they were driving the victim’s vehicle and living in her rented home. In handing down the sentence, the court described the scheme as heartless and far-reaching, noting Akporugo and Sood deliberately targeted older women, including several widows.

Akporugo admitted to leading the long-running romance scheme based in Houston that targeted victims from Chicago to Kentucky. He and others lured victims through online romances and convinced them to send money to bank accounts he controlled. Sood created fake businesses and bank accounts under aliases and used disguises to deposit the funds.

To carry out the scheme, Akporugo and his co-conspirators used fake names on social media to gain victims’ trust and persuade them to invest in nonexistent businesses or provide funds for invented personal circumstances. Akporugo admitted to directing victims — mostly older individuals — to send money through platforms like Facebook. The funds were spent extravagantly or passed to co-defendants.

He also admitted to having victims open lines of credit in his name and, in one case, having the victim purchase a luxury vehicle for his personal use. Authorities identified over 25 victims during the multiyear scheme.

Losses from the fraud ring’s operation total more than $3 million.

Both will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Carter prosecuted the case.

For more news and information on how ICE HSI combats financial crimes and other transnational criminal activity in Southeast Texas follow us on X at @HSIHouston.

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.gov)