Two Nigerians, Chinagorom Onwumere and Stephen Anagor, have been handed long prison sentences in the United States for their roles in a romance scam and wire fraud scheme that ultimately led to the death of an elderly American victim.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the development on Wednesday, stating that Judge Clifton L. Corker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee delivered the sentences to the pair alongside their accomplice, 29-year-old Sudanese national, Salma Abdalkareem.
Onwumere, 36, received a four-and-a-half-year prison term after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aiding and abetting aggravated stalking resulting in death, and aiding and abetting money laundering. Anagor, 37, was sentenced to nine years on related charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aiding and abetting money laundering.
Court records indicated that the duo met during military training in South Carolina in June 2023. Anagor later recruited Onwumere, his wife, and Abdalkareem to support a relative in Nigeria in executing a network of romance scams targeting mostly elderly Americans.
The relative in Nigeria posed as well-known celebrities, deceiving victims into believing they were involved in online romantic relationships with famous personalities. Once the false connections were established, the scammers exploited their victims, extracting money through fabricated claims.
According to the DOJ, victims were manipulated into paying fees for supposed taxes on luxury vehicles, background checks, exclusive celebrity membership access, and even fake law enforcement fines allegedly required to stop investigations initiated by the impersonated celebrities.
Both Onwumere and Anagor will serve five years of supervised release after completing their prison terms. They are also required to pay $388,500 in restitution to their victims.
The convictions add to the growing number of fraud cases involving Nigerians abroad, further emphasizing the need for stronger public awareness on digital safety and cross-border cybercrime prevention.
