Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo, the newly elected chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State, was apprehended by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) upon his arrival at an airport in Texas, United States.
The arrest, which took place on November 9th, 2024, is linked to a complex $3.3 million romance scam that has left several victims financially devastated. According to a statement from the U.S.
Department of Justice, Nwadialo faces a daunting 14-count charge and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
The charges stem from allegations that Nwadialo used various aliases, including 'Giovanni,' to lure victims on online dating platforms such as Match, Zoosk, and Christian Café. The indictment reveals a pattern of deceit where Nwadialo allegedly posed as military personnel deployed overseas, using this guise to fabricate urgent financial needs.
In one instance, he convinced a victim to send him $150,000, claiming it was to pay a military fine for revealing his location.
This particular victim was defrauded of at least $2.4 million in total. Further details from the indictment describe how Nwadialo manipulated another victim into transferring $270,000 under the pretense of reinvesting proceeds from her investments into a cryptocurrency account he controlled.
Yet another victim was persuaded to transfer $310,000 after Nwadialo claimed he needed help with personal expenses, including his father's funeral and his son's school tuition.
The U.S. Department of Justice highlighted the sophisticated nature of these scams, emphasizing the use of false images and elaborate stories to gain the trust of unsuspecting individuals. "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 the victims in person," the statement read.
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