Nigerian risks 40 years jail over $2.5m fraud in US

An Abuja-based man, Charles Nwadavid, is at risk of 40 years imprisonment in the United States of America and deportation for his alleged role in a $2.5m romance scam.

This was contained in a statement obtained on the US Department of Justice website on Wednesday.

According to the statement, Nwadavid was arrested on Monday upon his arrival to the US via a United Kingdom flight and appeared in court on Tuesday.

The statement noted that the suspect was indicted in January 2024 on charges of mail fraud and money laundering.

The statement read, “A Nigerian national has been charged for his alleged role in allegedly stealing more than $2.5 million from six romance scam victims and transferring their money to cryptocurrency accounts that he controlled.

“Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, 34, of Abuja, Nigeria, was arrested on April 7, 2025, after arriving on a flight from the United Kingdom to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

“In January 2024, a federal grand jury in Boston indicted Nwadavid on charges of mail fraud and money laundering. Nwadavid appeared in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 8, 2025, and was detained pending further proceedings. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.”

The statement continued that the suspect had allegedly perpetuated the fraud between 2016 and 2019 and had concealed his role by using it to launder the proceeds of the fraud.

It explained that the suspect tricked other victims into sending their money to the first victim, whom he directed to send the fraudulently obtained monies through cryptocurrency.

The statement continued, “Between in or about 2016 and September 2019, Nwadavid allegedly participated in romance scams that tricked victims into sending money abroad.

“In an effort to conceal his role as the recipient of the victims’ funds, Nwadavid allegedly used a victim from Massachusetts (Victim 1) to receive funds from five other victims around the United States.

“Nwadavid then allegedly tricked Victim 1 into passing her own and the other victims’ money to him through cryptocurrency transactions, and allegedly accessed accounts in Victim 1’s name from overseas, to transfer the victims’ funds to accounts he controlled at LocalBitcoins, an online cryptocurrency platform.”

The US DoJ noted that though the suspect is assumed to be innocent until proven guilty by a court, he risks 40 years in jail for both counts of money laundering and mail fraud.

It concluded that the suspect would also be deported upon conclusion of any jail term that may be imposed on him.

“The mail fraud charge provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the loss to the victim, restitution and forfeiture.

“The money laundering charges provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the laundering transactions, restitution and forfeiture.

“The defendant will also be subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case,” the statement concluded.