Five Sentenced in Texas for Fraud Schemes, Including Romance Scams, That Stole at Least $17 Million
On June 16, 2025, a federal court in Sherman, a city in Grayson County, Texas, sentenced five defendants who had used romance scams, business email compromise, investor fraud, and unemployment insurance fraud to obtain about $17 million from at least 100 individuals, companies, and government entities around the world. Their sentences total nearly 160 years.
U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant III imposed the sentences that day. Damilola Kumapayi, 39, of Plano, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 109 months. Sandra Iribhogbe Popnen, 50, of Plano, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 365 months. Edgal Iribhogbe, 51, of Allen, was found guilty at trial and was sentenced to 480 months. Chidindu Okeke, 32, of Houston, was found guilty at trial and was sentenced to 480 months. Chiagoziem Okeke, 32, of Houston, was found guilty at trial and was sentenced to 480 months.
According to information presented in court, beginning around January 2017, the defendants ran a multitude of schemes that specifically targeted elderly people, including romance scams on online dating sites. Once they obtained the money, they laundered it through a network of bank accounts and sent it to accounts, co-conspirators, and businesses in Africa and Asia.
Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs said transnational organized criminals who target the hard-earned savings of elderly and vulnerable people are despicable, and that the long arm of the American justice system has no limits in reaching such fraudsters. R. Joseph Rothrock, special agent in charge of the FBI's Dallas office, said that for some victims the money was their life savings. Christopher J. Altemus Jr. of IRS Criminal Investigation's Dallas office said the collective sentences of nearly 160 years reflect law enforcement's resolve.
The case was investigated by the FBI's Dallas office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service, the Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, among others. The case is part of the Justice Department's Operation Take Back America.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于谢尔曼市的 Paul Brown 联邦大楼与美国法院，入口可见法院名牌。Michael Barera 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Paul Brown Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Sherman, with the courthouse name visible at the entrance. Photo by Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
