{"id":127921,"date":"2026-06-25T06:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T05:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=127921"},"modified":"2026-06-25T06:20:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T05:20:12","slug":"us-jails-anambra-lg-chairman-over-3-5m-romance-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/us-jails-anambra-lg-chairman-over-3-5m-romance-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"US Jails Anambra LG Chairman Over $3.5m Romance Scam"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Lizzy Chirkpi<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A United States federal court has sentenced Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo, Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, to five years in prison for orchestrating a romance fraud scheme that swindled victims out of more than $3.5 million.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nwadialo, 42, was sentenced by US District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright in Tacoma, Washington on Wednesday after being found guilty of running a long-term online scam that targeted emotionally vulnerable individuals seeking companionship.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Describing the scheme as \u201cdevastating,\u201d Judge Cartwright said the fraud inflicted not only severe financial losses but also deep emotional harm on victims, leaving many with depression, shame and strained family relationships.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to US prosecutors, Nwadialo and his associates used fake identities on dating platforms, including Match, Zoosk and Christian Caf\u00e9, often posing as a military officer known as \u201cGiovanni\u201d to build trust with victims.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The scammers allegedly persuaded victims to part with money under false claims ranging from military penalties and funeral expenses to emergency situations and bogus investment opportunities.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">First Assistant US Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said the fraudsters deliberately preyed on individuals dealing with heartbreak, divorce and bereavement, while many of the victims were elderly, widowed or divorced people seeking genuine relationships.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Court documents revealed that one victim maintained an online relationship with the fake persona for three years before learning from the FBI that it was a scam. Another victim, a widow searching for companionship after losing her husband, reportedly lost her home and life savings after selling assets to send money to the suspect.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Federal investigators said the operation ran for more than 15 years, causing extensive financial and emotional damage.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">FBI Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Harrington said Nwadialo exploited vulnerable people looking for companionship and manipulated them into surrendering their life savings.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Nigerian politician was arrested in Texas in 2024 shortly after arriving in the United States and was subsequently indicted on 14 counts of wire fraud.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Sok Tea Jiang and David T. Martin.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lizzy Chirkpi A United States federal court has sentenced Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo, Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, to five years in prison for orchestrating a&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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