Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo, the newly elected chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State, Nigeria, has been arrested in Texas, United States, for allegedly running a $3.3 million romance scam. If convicted, Nwadialo could face up to 20 years in prison.
Nwadialo was apprehended upon his arrival at a Texas airport on an indictment returned in the Western District of Washington. He will be transported to the Western District of Washington for arraignment. As a result of his arrest, Nwadialo’s deputy may be sworn in soon to take over as chairman of Ogbaru Local Government, according to a source.
The Anambra State government has declined to comment on the matter, but Governor Prof. Chukwuma Soludo is reportedly unhappy with the development.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington, Nwadialo used various versions of the name “Giovanni” when he met his victims online on websites such as Match, Zoosk, and Christian Café. He allegedly used false images for his profile and typically told the victims that he was in the military and deployed overseas, preventing him from meeting them in person.
The indictment revealed that Nwadialo invented many reasons to convince his victims to send him money. In one instance, he claimed he needed $150,000 to pay a fine imposed by the military for revealing his location to one of the victims. Another victim was defrauded of at least $330,000 after Nwadialo asked for help moving funds from U.S. accounts to accounts controlled by him and his co-schemers.
A third victim was defrauded when Nwadialo told her that he was investing money on her behalf. He claimed that a cheque she received from another victim was proceeds from her investments and had her “reinvest” the money in a specific cryptocurrency account that he controlled. The victim transferred at least $270,000 at Nwadialo’s direction.
In August 2020, Nwadialo defrauded another victim who he met on an online dating site and caused this victim to transfer at least $310,000 by claiming he needed financial assistance, including help paying for his father’s funeral or his son’s school tuition.
The fourteen counts of wire fraud relate to the communications with Nwadialo and the wiring of funds from victims to the defendant and his co-schemers. Wire fraud is punishable by up to twenty years in prison in the United States.
The FBI is investigating the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sok Jiang is prosecuting. U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman commended investigators for arresting Nwadialo, stating that defendants in romance scams are often overseas and unreachable by U.S. law enforcement.
Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20years in prison.