How Ogbaru LGA Chair Flew into FBI’s Net
Just weeks after his inauguration as Ogbaru Local Government Council chair in Anambra State, Franklin Ikwechukwu Nwadialo has been arrested by operatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, for alleged romance scam.
Nwadialo, who was arrested on arrival at a Texas airport on Tuesday, had been indicated in the Western District of Washington in December 2023, for various frauds amounting to $3.3 million (N5.7 billion)
A US Justice Department report obtained by Naija Daily News indicated that the Anambra State Council boss was indicted for “14 counts of wire fraud connected to his romance fraud scheme.”
He is expected to be prosecuted by a seasoned prosecutor and Assistant United States Attorney, Sok Jiang.
“Nwadialo was travelling from Nigeria when he was arrested. Nwadialo will be transported to the Western District of Washington for arraignment,” a statement by the US Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington, said.
“All too often the defendants in these romance scams are overseas and unreachable by U.S. law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. “I congratulate investigators who are alert to any opportunity to arrest such defendants and hold them accountable.”
According to the indictment and criminal complaint filed in the case, Nwadialo allegedly defrauded victims of more than $3.3 million.
Politician Scammed Victim Using Aliases, including ‘Giovanni’
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 the victims in person.
“Using these personas, Nwadialo invented many reasons he needed the victims to send him money. In one such case in 2020, he indicated 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.
A second victim was contacted in 2019 to help move funds from U.S. accounts to accounts controlled by the defendant and his co-schemers. In this instance, Nwadialo represented that he needed help moving money in connection with his father’s death. The victim transferred at least $330,000 to the accounts controlled by the defendant.
A third victim was defrauded by Nwadialo when he told her that he was investing money for her. He claimed that a check she received from another victim was proceeds from her investments and he had her “reinvest” the money in a specific cryptocurrency account that he controlled.
“The victim transferred at least $270,000 at Nwadialo’s direction,” the court document stated.
Finally, 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.
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
