Nigerian faces ‘20-year jail’ case over alleged $2.5 million romance scam indictment in US
A Nigerian national, Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, has been charged in the United States with a $2.5 million romance scam indictment – a charge recommending 20 years in jail if convicted.
The United States Justice Department disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
He is 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 allegedly controlled.
The US government agency disclosed that Charles (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.
Details of Allegations
According to the statement, “romance scams” recruit victims through advertisements for online relationships on dating or social media websites while individuals perpetuating romance scams create fictitious profiles and then use them to gain victims’ trust through a purported romantic relationship.
“Perpetrators then direct their victims to send money or to conduct financial transactions involving other victims’ money under false pretenses, such as an urgent need for money to secure a multi-million dollar inheritance or to pay for an unexpected hospitalization,” the statement partly reads.
- According to the charges, 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 was accused of using 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 statement added.
- The US agency stressed that 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 added.
Legal Disputes
According to the statement, 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.
The United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division also stressed that the details contained in the charging documents are allegations as the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
