On Jan. 28, 2026, a federal judge in New Orleans handed a Marietta man a 25-year prison sentence for a sweeping romance scam that prosecutors say zeroed in on mostly older, widowed women across Louisiana and beyond. What started as friendly exchanges on Facebook and Instagram morphed into private chats where scammers spun tales of emergencies and noble causes, then convinced victims to send money to help.
Kenneth G. Akpieyi, who went by the alias "Phillip Anderson," was convicted in July 2025 of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo ordered three 100‑month prison terms to run back to back, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The office reported that nine women testified at trial and that the court held Akpieyi responsible for victim losses totaling more than $3.5 million. Investigators with the FBI's New Orleans and Atlanta field offices, along with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office, were credited with unraveling the scheme.
Local coverage has filled in just how devastating the losses were. As reported by NOLA.com, prosecutors told the court that victims ultimately sent Akpieyi more than $9 million. Court records cited by the outlet describe a Mandeville woman who wired about $124,757, along with other victims who sent staggering amounts of $250,000, $500,000, and even $1 million. Several of the women who took the stand said they were widows who trusted what they believed were genuine online relationships, only to watch their life savings disappear.
How the scheme worked
According to reporting from FOX 5 Atlanta and courtroom testimony, the pattern became grimly familiar. Conspirators posed on social media as military officers, oil‑rig workers, or philanthropists. Once they had a victim's trust, they shifted to encrypted apps like WhatsApp to keep conversations out of public view.
From there, the asks started. Victims were urged to send money for supposed medical emergencies, charitable missions, or sudden family crises. Prosecutors said Akpieyi received funds at his home in Marietta, then pushed the money through KGA Autobrokers and used companies such as Le Beau Monde LLC to layer transactions and obscure the trail. At one point, according to testimony, two checks from the same victim totaling $300,000 were deposited in two different banks on the very same day.
Co‑conspirators and money laundering
Prosecutors told the court that some of the stolen money was moved into bank accounts in China and the United Arab Emirates and that funds flowed through dozens of accounts tied to the conspiracy. Co‑defendant Emuobosan Emmanuella Hall pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and admitted laundering about $851,207 in victim funds. She received an eight‑year sentence, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Investigators say the fraud touched hundreds of accounts and multiple states as they tried to follow the money trail.
Sentencing, restitution and appeal
Judge Milazzo set restitution to be determined at a separate hearing within 90 days. As reported by NOLA.com, investigators subpoenaed more than 200 bank records while tracking victim losses, and Akpieyi has appealed his conviction. Prosecutors say they intend to keep pursuing recovery of stolen funds for victims as the case moves into the restitution phase.
Why this matters
Romance scams remain one of the most costly forms of financial exploitation for older Americans. The FBI's 2024 IC3 report recorded about $672 million in losses to confidence and romance fraud in the previous year and found that people 60 and older suffered the largest share of those losses. Authorities warn against wiring money to anyone you know only online, urge people to verify identities through independent searches or video calls, and advise reporting suspected scams to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center or the Federal Trade Commission. National data and guidance are detailed in the FBI IC3 report.
Hoodline first spotlighted the case after the July 2025 trial, zeroing in on money funneled through Georgia before landing in overseas accounts. A restitution hearing is expected this spring, as victims continue to press for every possible dollar in repayment.
