By Habeeb Ibrahim
Franklin Nwadialo, the newly elected Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area (LGA) in Anambra State, has been apprehended in Texas, USA, in connection with a $3.3 million romance scam. The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Nwadialo faces 14 charges and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The FBI arrested the 40-year-old LGA chairman upon his arrival in Texas. He will be transferred to the Western District of Washington for arraignment.
According to the indictment, Nwadialo, under the alias “Giovanni,” lured victims through dating platforms such as Match, Zoosk, and Christian Café. Using fake photos and pretending to be a military officer stationed overseas, Nwadialo convinced his victims to send him money for various fabricated reasons. In one case, he defrauded a victim of at least $2.4 million after falsely claiming he had been fined by the military.
The U.S. Department of Justice also highlighted additional incidents in which Nwadialo scammed multiple victims. One victim transferred over $330,000 to accounts controlled by Nwadialo and his accomplices, while another was tricked into investing over $270,000 in cryptocurrency.
Nwadialo faces multiple wire fraud charges related to his online communications and the illegal transfer of funds. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sok Jiang.
