Nigerian Local government Chairman Arrested in U.S. Over Multi-Million-Dollar Romance Scam
Franklin Nwadialo
40-year-old Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo, the newly elected chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State, Nigeria, has been arrested on arrival at an airport in Texas, United States, on charges linked to a multi-million-dollar romance fraud scheme
Nwadialo, indicted in December 2023 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, faces 14 counts of wire fraud. The defendant allegedly sc3mmed victims out of up to $2 million by posing as a romantic partner deployed in the U.S. military.
Nwadialo was traveling from Nigeria when he was taken into custody. He is now set to be transported to the Western District of Washington for arraignment.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman disclosed the challenges of prosecuting defendants involved in overseas romance scams, stating, “All too often, the defendants in these romance scams are overseas and unreachable by U.S. law enforcement.”
She commended the investigators for their persistence in bringing the defendant to justice. According to the indictment and criminal complaint filed in the case, Nwadialo allegedly defrauded victims of more than $3.3 million.
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.
