Federal authorities have brought a criminal complaint against a man employed by the D.C. government for alleged involvement in a romance scam scheme that defrauded more than 20 women, many of them elderly, out of $1.9 million.

Charles Egunjobi, 48, worked for the District — ironically enough, as a financial auditor in criminal investigations — according to his LinkedIn page. Federal prosecutors say that in at least one instance he helped launder money for a co-defendant, Isidore Iwuagwu, 35. The transactions between the two men are believed to have taken place between September 2019 and April 2020, according to court documents.

The co-conspirators allegedly initiated false online romantic relationships on dating websites, and then convinced their victims to send money to help them through fabricated difficulties, often related to military deployments.

According to the complaint, Egunjobi admitted to law enforcement last month that he exchanged U.S. dollars from the scam for Nigerian currency, which could constitute a violation of federal law for operating an unlicensed money transmission business. If convicted, that charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Iwuagwu is charged with money laundering conspiracy, which could lead to up to 20 years in prison.

In the example cited in the complaint against Egunjobi, Iwuagwu allegedly posed on a dating website and on WhatsApp as “Jose Velazquez,” a soldier in the U.S. Army deployed in Iraq. Messages to the victim of the scam told her that he needed money but couldn’t get into his bank account due to insurgent activity, and asked her to send funds to a bank account owned by Egunjobi, court documents show. The woman sent $8,000 in two payments to the account in February 2020.

Law enforcement searched Egunjobi’s home last month and discovered a ledger with line items matching the dates of the victim’s payments, with the descriptor “Cashier Check Deposit by His Friend.” Around the same time, bank records also indicate Egunjobi sent money to a used car auction company. “Purchasing used vehicles is a common form of trade-based money laundering used to conceal the nature of criminal proceeds,” the criminal complaint notes.

The complaint against Iwuagwu details multiple similar incidents that took place between 2015 and 2021, including several where he allegedly posed as deployed military personnel and received tens of thousands of dollars from victims.

Federal investigators also searched Egunjobi’s phone and found multiple conversations discussing the transfer of money or vehicles to Nigeria. They also found messages between Egunjobi and Iwuagwu, discussing the exchange of U.S. dollars for Nigerian naira, dated between December 2019 and November 2020. There is additional evidence suggesting that Egunjobi transferred money at least 21 times from a bank account he holds in Ghana to a Nigerian account held by Iwuagwu. The sum of the transactions was $43,827.42.

Egunjobi was arrested and released on supervision. A name and contact information for his court-appointed attorney were not listed in the court documents.

Online romance scams are a common form of consumer fraud. They often target elderly victims. According to data from the Federal Trade Commission, Americans lost $143 million to romance scams in 2018 alone. Victims in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia typically lose thousands of dollars to the scams, on average.

There is support available for possible victims of similar scams. The Department of Justice has an elder fraud hotline, available at 1-833-FRAUD-11, plus a roadmap designed to help victims figure out where to report. Victims can also file complaints with the FBI here or at 1-800-225-5324, or with the Federal Trade Commission here or at 877-FTC-HELP.