Darlington Akporugo and his wife, Jasmin Sood, were recently sentenced to federal prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar romance and elder fraud scheme that spanned several U.S. states.
Akporugo, an undocumented Nigerian national, and Sood, a Houston resident, ran a $3.1 million fraud operation from 2015 to 2022.
They used fake identities and social media profiles to lure elderly victims—mostly women, including widows—into fake romantic relationships.
Victims were manipulated into sending large sums of money, buying luxury items, and even renting homes and vehicles for the couple.
Darlington was sentenced to 188 months (15 years, 8 months) in federal prison.
while his wife Jasmin Sood was sentenced to 121 months (just over 10 years).
Both must pay $3,123,073 in restitution and serve 3 years of supervised release after prison.
The court described the scheme as “heartless and far-reaching.”
Akporugo posed as a romantic partner and convinced victims to invest in nonexistent businesses or help with fabricated emergencies while Sood created fake companies and bank accounts under aliases to launder the money.
They were arrested while driving a victim’s car and living in her rented mansion.
Both will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
