A Houston couple has been sentenced for their roles in a romance scheme that defrauded elderly victims across the nation, according to US Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Darlington Akporugo, 47, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, while his wife, 37-year-old Jasmin Sood, also known as Jaslynn Washington, entered her plea to the same charges.
U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge sentenced Akporugo to 188 months in prison, while Sood received 121 months. Following their sentence, both will serve three years of supervised release and pay $3,123,073 in reparations. During the court, victims spoke about the couple’s deceptive techniques, which included forcing one victim to buy a fancy automobile and renting a residence for them. Authorities arrested the couple as they were driving the victim’s car and residing in her rented home.
The court described the scheme as heartless and far-reaching, noting that Akporugo and Sood specifically targeted older ladies, including widows. Judge Eskridge emphasized the financial damage caused by their activities and commended the victims for their courage in coming forward. Akporugo admitted to being a key figure in the Houston-based operation, which used internet romances to persuade victims from Chicago to Kentucky to transfer funds to bank accounts he controlled.
Sood created fake businesses and bank accounts under aliases, depositing monies in disguise. The duo utilized fictitious aliases on social media to gain people’ trust, convincing them to invest in nonexistent businesses or supply finances for manufactured personal situations. Akporugo directed victims, primarily elderly people, to submit money via platforms such as Facebook, which was then lavishly spent or transferred to co-defendants. Authorities identified more than 25 victims, with losses reaching $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.”
Special Agent in Charge Chad Plantz of Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) stated, “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. 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.”