A Maryland man was sentenced Tuesday to more than two years in federal prison and ordered to pay back $180,000 for his role in a romance fraud scheme that targeted an elderly woman in North Dakota.

Chinedu Nwafor, 42, of Bowie, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in North Dakota.

The statement detailed court documents that said “foreign actors” would contact elderly woman on social media and enter into what the women thought were legitimate romantic relationships.

Nwafor admitted that he received a package from a New Town woman that contained a $150,000 cashier’s check, which foreign actors fraudulently obtained as part of the romance fraud scheme by posing as either “General Joseph Martins” or “Diplomat David Jones,” the statement said.

Another Maryland man identified as 56-year-old Vitus Uzowuru pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting mail fraud, the statement said. Uzowuru was sentenced in August to time already served and was ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution.

Uzowuru also served as a U.S.-based middleman to both Nwafor and others overseas, according to the statement. As noted in court documents, Uzowuru admitted that he also received a package from the New Town woman that contained $50,000, which foreign actors fraudulently obtained.

A third person identified as Juliet Molenda, also of Maryland, was indicted in April 2023 by a federal grand jury in connection with the romance scheme, the statement said. Court documents in Molenda’s case indicate she is out of custody and under the control of federal authorities in Maryland. Her trial is scheduled to begin June 24 in Bismarck before U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland.

If convicted, Molenda faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

Romance fraud schemes are often perpetrated by people overseas who pose as high-ranking members of the military who are stationed abroad, the statement stated. Those false personas are often accompanied by fake social media or internet profiles, which are then used to target elderly women with the goal of those women sending money to a U.S.-based middleman.

In many cases, the fraudsters will concoct a bogus story about some sort of medical, legal or customs issue on behalf of the bogus military member, the statement said.

“This sentence shows that romance scammers will face justice in United States District Court when they target the hard-earned savings of North Dakotans,” state U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider said in the statement. “It’s also a reminder to be vigilant about protecting yourself and your loved ones against schemes like this one.”

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