A United States District Court has sentenced the Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo, to five years imprisonment for his role in an online romance fraud scheme that defrauded victims of about $3.5 million.
Nwadialo, 42, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at an airport in Texas after arriving in the United States in 2024. He was later indicted in December 2023 on 14 counts of wire fraud linked to the romance scam operation.
The conviction was announced in a statement issued by the United States Department of Justice on Tuesday, with First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd confirming that Nwadialo was sentenced on Monday by the U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington.
During the sentencing, U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright described the crime as devastating, noting that it ruined the financial lives of many victims and subjected them to emotional trauma, including shame, depression and isolation from family members.
Floyd said the convict preyed on people already dealing with heartbreak and personal loss, spending more than 15 years manipulating victims he had never met. He added that Nwadialo used numerous false stories to gain their trust and collect money, including claims that he operated a non-profit organisation supporting autistic children.
The FBI’s Special Agent in Charge of the Seattle Field Office, W. Mike Harrington, said Nwadialo targeted vulnerable individuals seeking relationships online, gained their confidence and deceived them into surrendering their life savings.
According to court records, Nwadialo used various versions of the name “Giovanni” on dating platforms including Match, Zoosk and Christian Café. He allegedly created fake profiles using false photographs and personal information, often posing as a military officer deployed overseas to avoid meeting victims in person.
Investigators said he fabricated different emergencies to persuade victims to send money. In one instance, he claimed the military fined him $150,000 for disclosing his location and requested financial assistance from a victim to pay the penalty.
Court documents further revealed that he frequently targeted older people, particularly widows and divorcees. He reportedly told some victims he needed help accessing inheritance funds, paying funeral expenses for his father, financing his son’s education, or managing investments on their behalf.
Prosecutors argued that the offence caused significant harm, stressing that many victims lost their homes, savings and financial security after being deceived into believing they were in genuine romantic relationships.
One victim reportedly maintained a three-year online relationship with Nwadialo’s fake identity before discovering the truth through an FBI investigation. Another widow was said to have lost her home and life savings after liquidating assets to support the individual she believed was her partner.
The prosecutors maintained that many of the victims may never fully recover from the financial and emotional impact of the fraud scheme.
