Nigerian socialite Darlington Akporugo is facing up to 25 years in prison after the 47-year-old pleaded guilty to engaging in a romance scam that defrauded dozens of unsuspecting individuals, many of whom were elderly, out of millions of dollars in Houston and other locations across the United States.

Mr Akporugo was preparing for his wedding to Jasmin Sood in early 2024 when he was arrested just hours before the D-Day by U.S. law enforcement following a years-long investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into a Houston-based romance scam syndicate, which he admitted to being the central figure of.

According to ICE, Mr Akporugo, who is an illegal immigrant in the United States, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, as well as wire fraud, aiding, and abetting in an elaborate scheme that involved more than 25 victims, the majority of whom were either retired or elderly.

“This individual and his co-conspirators preyed on the vulnerability of the elderly and recently widowed to defraud them of their hard-earned life savings,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz.

“Thanks to the victims who bravely came forward to report this matter to law enforcement and the outstanding relationships that we have with our domestic and law enforcement partners abroad, we were able to expose this reprehensible scheme and hold the criminals involved in it accountable,” he added.

In the plea, Mr Akporugo and his co-defendants confessed to creating fake identities on social media, primarily Facebook, where they gained access to unsuspecting individuals before luring them into investing in non-existent businesses or providing funds for fabricated personal emergencies.

He encouraged his victims to send money to either his or his associates’ bank accounts before the funds were rerouted to overseas accounts.

In addition to collecting cash and wire transfers, Mr Akporugo also admitted to persuading victims to open lines of credit in his name and, in one case, purchase a luxury vehicle for his personal use.

Mr Akporugo will remain in custody until his sentencing on June 6. He faces several years in prison, after which he is likely to be deported from the United States upon completion of his sentence.