Former New Bedford man sentenced for fraud after ‘romance scam’

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — The United States Attorney’s Office said that a former New Bedford man, who was previously extradited from the United Kingdom, was sentenced for money laundering and wire fraud after a “romance scam.”

39-year-old Chukwunonso “Douglas” Umegbo, who also went by James Abbott, Michael Philips, and Richard Armani, previously pled guilty to six counts of making a false statement to a bank, two counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

The office said that between 2018 and 20219 Umegbo opened bank accounts in the greater Boston area using fake identity documents to receive fraudulently obtained funds from a number of victims of romance scams.

Umegbo would create fictitious online personas to develop online romantic relationships with individuals in the U.S., and then leverage those relationships to obtain money and/or property.

The office added that Umegbo received more than $568,000 from the scams.

He was sentenced to serve 42 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, as well as pay restitution and forfeiture of $578,954.78.