Following the arrest of newly elected chairman of Ogbaru LGA in Anambra state, Franklin Nwadialo, in Texas, United States, the American government has given details of hos he allegedly scammed its citizens of $3.3m.
Nwadialo was said to have baited the victims with tales connected to military service, romance and hanging investment.
The US department of justice confirmed his arrest in a statement. It noted that Nwadialo is facing a 14-count charge and risks a 20-year sentence if found guilty.
As ‘The Nation’ reports, the federal bureau of investigation (FBI) had arrested the 40-year-old LGA chairman on arrival in Texas.
He has been transferred to the Western District of Washington for arraignment.
“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,” the statement reads.
“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.”
The US department of justice cited another instance where the accused contacted a second victim in 2019 to help move funds from US accounts to accounts controlled by him and his co-schemers.
“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 14 counts of wire fraud relate to the communications with Nwadialo and the wiring of funds from victims to the defendant and his co-schemers.”
The case is being prosecuted by Sok Jiang, an assistant United States attorney.
