Cloned Broker Websites and Voice-Changing Software: SEC Sues Three Nigeria-Based Men Over Fake Financial Adviser Scheme

Published Oct. 12, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date, based on SEC records.

The websites looked like they belonged to real brokers and investment advisers at well-known U.S. firms, because the people they featured were real. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, everything else was fake.

On Dec. 11, 2024, the SEC charged Chibuzo Augustine Onyeachonam, Stanley Chidubem Asiegbu and Chukwuebuka Martin Nweke-Eze, who the SEC says live in Nigeria, with fraud for impersonating legitimate securities professionals in an online scheme that took more than $2.9 million from at least 28 investors [1]. The SEC's litigation release spells the third name "Newke-Eze" [3]; we use the press release spelling.

The real professionals whose identities were allegedly used are victims of impersonation. They are not accused of anything, and we do not name them.

What the SEC alleges

According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey [1][2]:

• Cloned identities. From at least 2019, the three created websites impersonating nearly two dozen actual brokers and investment adviser representatives at well-known U.S. firms.
• Fake buzz. They allegedly lured investors to the sites by posting fictitious comments from supposed clients on social media and in investment group chats, praising the professionals' trading success.
• The promise. Investors were promised monthly returns of up to 25% and sent to fake online platforms built to make their portfolios appear to grow.
• The voice. Because most of the impersonated professionals were women, the SEC says the defendants bought voice-changing software to speak with investors.

"Today's charges highlight how fraudsters can manipulate online information and use technology to gain trust with investors," said Sanjay Wadhwa, then acting director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. "We caution the investing public to be on heightened alert when investing with someone who is soliciting investments through social media, even if that person appears to be a financial industry professional" [1].

Charges and status

All three are charged with violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, and Onyeachonam and Asiegbu are also charged under the Advisers Act. The SEC seeks injunctions, conduct-based injunctions, disgorgement and penalties [1]. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced parallel criminal charges against all three [1]. They are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. As of Oct. 12, 2026, we found no later SEC judgment on sec.gov.

How to spot an impersonator

A real adviser's name and photo prove nothing. Look the person up on BrokerCheck or Investor.gov, then contact them through the main phone number on their firm's official website, not the number or link you were given. Real firms do not take deposits through outside "platforms" or crypto wallets. The SEC and FBI issued an investor alert on impersonation scams with the case [1].

What an SEC civil case is (and isn't)

The SEC is a civil regulator. When it "charges" someone, it files a lawsuit in federal court or brings an administrative proceeding asking for remedies such as injunctions, repayment of allegedly ill-gotten gains (disgorgement), civil money penalties and industry bars. It cannot send anyone to prison. Criminal charges, when there are any, are brought separately by federal prosecutors, and a defendant in a criminal case is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Allegations in an SEC complaint are claims the agency must prove in court unless a defendant settles. When a defendant settles "without admitting or denying" the allegations, the court or the Commission enters an order, but the defendant has not conceded that the allegations are true. Throughout this article, statements about what happened are allegations or findings as described by the SEC, not established facts, unless we say a court entered a judgment or a defendant pleaded guilty.

Red flags in this case

• An 'adviser' who finds you through social media or a group chat.
• Monthly returns up to 25%.
• Deposits sent to a platform or account that isn't the firm's official custodian.
• Contact details that don't match the firm's official website.

How to check an investment before you hand over money

• Look up the person and the firm on Investor.gov and FINRA BrokerCheck. A clean search is not proof of legitimacy, but a missing or mismatched record is a reason to stop.
• Read the offering documents yourself, and ask a fee-only professional you found independently to read them too.
• Be skeptical of "guaranteed" or fixed high returns. Real investments carry risk, and promises of safety plus high yield are a classic warning sign.
• Be wary of pressure. Deadlines, "limited allocations" and repeated calls are sales tactics, not investment analysis.
• Don't let trust in a group replace due diligence. Fraud often spreads through churches, ethnic and professional communities, online chat groups and friends-of-friends referrals.

If you think you were affected

1. Keep everything: account statements, emails, texts, wire and payment records, and any marketing material.
2. Report it to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr. If a criminal case is involved, you can also contact the FBI at ic3.gov or the prosecutors' victim-witness office.
3. Watch for a receiver or fair fund. In some SEC cases, money is later returned to harmed investors through a court-appointed receiver or a distribution fund. Notices are posted on sec.gov.
4. Beware of "recovery" offers. People who lost money are often targeted again by scammers promising to recover it for an upfront fee. Legitimate receivers and the SEC do not charge you to file a claim.

Case status (as of Oct. 12, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 12, 2026	Source
Chibuzo Augustine Onyeachonam	U.S. District Court, D.N.J. (SEC civil)	Sued Dec. 11, 2024; no later judgment found on sec.gov. Parallel criminal charges announced; presumed innocent	[1], [3]
Stanley Chidubem Asiegbu	U.S. District Court, D.N.J. (SEC civil)	Same as above	[1], [3]
Chukwuebuka Martin Nweke-Eze (spelled "Newke-Eze" in LR-26194)	U.S. District Court, D.N.J. (SEC civil)	Same as above	[1], [3]

Statuses can change. SEC allegations are claims, not findings of wrongdoing, unless a court has ruled.

Sources

1. SEC Press Release 2024-194, "SEC Charges Three Individuals with Impersonating Financial Professionals in Fraud Scheme Targeting Retail Investors," Dec. 11, 2024. https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024-194
2. SEC complaint (D.N.J.). https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2024/comp-pr2024-194.pdf
3. SEC Litigation Release No. 26194, Dec. 12, 2024. https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26194

---

Corrections and updates: If you are named in this article, or represent someone who is, and believe anything here is inaccurate or out of date (including a dismissal, judgment, settlement or change in case status), please contact us at editorandchief@scammers.com. We will review it and update the article promptly.