A newly elected chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State, Franklin Nwadialo, has been arrested in Texas, United States, for allegedly running a $3.3 million romance scam.
In a statement on its website on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the 40-year-old was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation upon his arrival in Texas.
The DOJ stated that Nwadialo would be transferred to the Western District of Washington for arraignment, adding that he faces a 14-count charge and could face a 20-year sentence if found guilty.
It disclosed that the accused used false images in his profile and defrauded vulnerable women of their hard-earned money.
Part of the statement reads, “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 U.S. 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 14 counts of wire fraud relate to communications with Nwadialo and the transfer of funds from victims to the defendant and his co-conspirators.
