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…