US court jails Anambra LG chairman for five years over $3.5 million romance scam
The United States government has sentenced the chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State, Francis Nwadialo, to five years in prison for orchestrating a romance fraud scheme that defrauded victims of more than $3.5 million.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Nwadialo, 42, was arrested at an airport in Texas upon his arrival in the United States in 2024 and was indicted in December 2023 on 14 counts of wire fraud connected to the romance scam operation.
Court records show that Nwadialo used various versions of the name “Giovanni” to target victims on dating platforms including Match, Zoosk and Christian Café. Prosecutors said he created fake online profiles, often posing as a military officer deployed overseas, and fabricated numerous stories to persuade victims to send him money.
The Justice Department said the fraud scheme spanned more than 15 years and primarily targeted older, widowed or divorced individuals. Victims were convinced to transfer money for alleged military fines, funeral expenses, school tuition and investment opportunities.
At the sentencing hearing on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright described the crime as “devastating,” stating that it was “not an exaggeration to say it ruined lives—not only financial lives,” while highlighting the emotional toll on victims, including “shame, depression, and isolation from their own family.”
Commenting on the sentence, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said Nwadialo exploited vulnerable people experiencing grief and heartbreak.
“This defendant preyed on those already suffering from the loss of loved ones or other heartbreak. For some 15 years he upended the lives of people he never met,” Floyd said.
He added: “He spun tale after tale to gain the victims’ trust and their money – even claiming to run a non-profit providing services for autistic children. No scheme was too low for these conspirators.”
FBI Seattle Special Agent in Charge W. Mike Harrington said the conviction sends a strong message to fraudsters operating across international borders.
“For years, Mr. Nwadialo preyed on vulnerable victims looking for relationships online, gained their trust, and told them lies to steal their life savings totaling millions of dollars,” Harrington said.
