Romance scheme fraudsters sentenced for $3 million conspiracy

HOUSTON – A Houston couple have been sentenced for wire fraud and conspiracy for a romance scheme targeting citizens nationwide, many of whom were elderly, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Darlington Akporugo, 47, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud Feb 28. His wife, Jasmin Sood aka Jaslynn Washington, 37, entered her plea to the same charges Dec. 17, 2024.      

U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge has imposed a 188-month-term of imprisonment for Akporugo, while Sood received 121 months. Both must also serve three years of supervised release following their sentences and pay full restitution of $3,123,073. 

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. Judge Eskridge highlighted the financial devastation left in their wake and commended the victims for their courage in coming forward. 

Akporugo admitted to being a central figure in a long-running romance scheme based in Houston that targeted victims from Chicago to Kentucky. He and others to 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 non-existent 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, purchase a luxury vehicle for his personal use. Authorities identified over 25 victims during the multi-year scheme.   

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

“Investigating and prosecuting those that perpetuate romance scams—particularly those who target the lonely elderly—will always be a priority for the Southern District of Texas,” said Ganjei. “We applaud those victims courageous enough to notify authorities, and we encourage others who have been victimized to similarly come forward. Together, we may stop the next fraudster.”

“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 Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz of Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI). “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.”

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

ICE-HSI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Carter prosecuted the case.