Franklin Nwadialo, the newly elected chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State, has been arrested in Texas, USA, for allegedly operating a $3.3 million romance scam.
The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed his arrest in a statement on Tuesday, revealing that Nwadialo, 40, was taken into custody by the Federal Bureau of Investigation upon his arrival in Texas.
According to the DOJ, Nwadialo will be transferred to the Western District of Washington for his arraignment. He faces 14 counts of fraud and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The DOJ further disclosed that Nwadialo used fake images in his online profile to deceive and defraud vulnerable women out of significant sums of money.
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The statement reads, “According to the indictment, Nwadialo used various versions of the name ‘Giovanni’ when he met his victims online on websites such as Match, Zoosk, and Christian Café.
“Nwadialo used false images for his profile and typically told the victims that he was in the military and deployed overseas, so he could not meet them in person.
“Using these personas, Nwadialo invented many reasons for needing the victims to send him money.
“In one such case in 2020, he claimed he had been fined by the military for revealing his location to the victim. He asked the victim to help him pay the $150,000 fine. In all, that victim was defrauded of at least $2.4 million.”
The US DOJ also stated that the accused contacted a second victim in 2019 to help move funds from US accounts to accounts controlled by him and his co-conspirators.
The statement added, “In this instance, Nwadialo claimed he needed help moving money in connection with his father’s death. The victim transferred at least $330,000 to accounts controlled by the defendant.
“A third victim was defrauded by Nwadialo when he 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 he persuaded her to ‘reinvest’ the money in a specific cryptocurrency account that he controlled. The victim transferred at least $270,000 at Nwadialo’s direction.
“Finally, in August 2020, Nwadialo defrauded another victim whom he met on an online dating site, causing her 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 14 counts of wire fraud relate to communications with Nwadialo and the transfer of funds from victims to the defendant and his co-conspirators.”
According to the statement, the case is being prosecuted by an Assistant United States Attorney, Sok Jiang.
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