Anambra Council Chairman Jailed Five Years in U.S. Over $3.5m Romance Fraud

Author: Gist Correspondent

A United States court has sentenced Anambra politician and Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area, Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo, to five years imprisonment for masterminding a romance scam that defrauded victims of about $3.5 million.

Nwadialo, 42, was sentenced on Monday by the U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington, after being found guilty of operating an online fraud scheme that targeted vulnerable individuals seeking relationships.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the United States Department of Justice, the Nigerian national was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at a Texas airport when he arrived in the United States in 2024.

He had earlier been indicted in December 2023 on 14 counts of wire fraud linked to the romance scam, which reportedly affected eight victims and spanned several years.

During sentencing, U.S. District Judge Tiffany Cartwright described the crime as devastating, saying it inflicted severe financial and emotional damage on victims.

The judge noted that beyond losing substantial sums of money, many victims suffered shame, depression and strained family relationships as a result of the deception.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said Nwadialo deliberately targeted people already dealing with grief, loneliness and personal heartbreak, using fabricated stories to gain their trust before stealing their money.

He added that the convict employed various false identities and even claimed to operate a non-profit organisation supporting autistic children in an effort to convince victims of his credibility.

Also commenting on the case, FBI Seattle Field Office Special Agent in Charge, Mike Harrington, said Nwadialo spent years exploiting vulnerable individuals online and defrauding them of their life savings.

Harrington said the suspect was eventually apprehended after travelling to the United States, where authorities were able to arrest and prosecute him for the offences.

Nwadialo, who was elected chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area in September 2024, will serve the five-year prison term imposed by the court.