By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Barely a month after taking office, Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo, the newly-elected Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, has been arrested in Texas, United States, on charges of internet fraud. The arrest stems from his alleged involvement in a romance scam that defrauded several victims of over $2 million.
Nwadialo, who emerged as one of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidates in the September 28, 2024, local government elections, was seen as a promising leader for Ogbaru. However, his recent arrest over alleged fraud has left many shocked and wondering.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is leading the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Sok Jiang handling the prosecution. Nwadialo is facing 14 counts of wire fraud, each linked to the alleged romance scam. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in a U.S. federal prison.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, the 40-year-old was arrested upon his arrival at a Texas airport. The indictment for his arrest was issued in December 2023, and he is expected to be transferred to Washington for arraignment.
The charges against Nwadialo stem from his activities on several popular dating websites, including Match, Zoosk, and Christian Café. There, he allegedly used the alias “Giovanni” and created false identities with fabricated images, often portraying himself as a military officer deployed overseas. Through these deceptions, he is accused of manipulating victims into sending him large sums of money.
In one of the alleged scams, Nwadialo was alleged to have convinced a victim to send over $2.4 million, claiming he had been fined $150,000 by the military for revealing his location. Another victim was persuaded to assist in transferring funds from U.S. accounts, reportedly to help with the death of his father. This victim allegedly transferred at least $330,000 to Nwadialo’s controlled accounts.
Further details in the indictment describe how Nwadialo targeted another woman, convincing her to invest in a cryptocurrency account under his control. This scheme reportedly resulted in over $270,000 in losses. In another case, Nwadialo was also alleged to have fabricated stories about needing financial help for his father’s funeral and his son’s education, leading a fourth victim to transfer $310,000.
The indictment, according the report, includes 14 separate counts of wire fraud, each corresponding to different instances of deception and funds transferred from the victims to Nwadialo and his co-conspirators. U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman praised the investigators for their hard work, stating that “all too often, the defendants in these romance scams are overseas and unreachable by U.S. law enforcement,” highlighting the difficulty of apprehending perpetrators operating from abroad.
This was corroborated by a press statement and document issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington, and published on the official website of US Government, as attached below:
nwadialo_indictment
However, when contacted by this reporter for his reaction, the State Commissioner for Local Government, Community and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Tonycollins Nwabunwanne, said the government is still investigating to ascertain the true position of the report.
“We just saw it online. But we’re still investigating and making efforts to find out its true position,” Commissioner Nwabunwanne said in a telephone interview with this reporter.
