Nigerian LG chairman sentenced to five years for $3.5M scam

A Nigerian local government chairman has been sentenced to five years in a U.S. federal prison for orchestrating a long-running online romance scam that defrauded victims of more than $3.5 million. Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo, the 42-year-old chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area in Anambra State, was sentenced late on Monday, June 22, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington.

U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright described the crimes as devastating, stating they ruined lives by causing severe financial harm and inflicting lasting emotional damage, including shame, depression, and isolation among victims. The sentence follows Nwadialo's arrest at a Texas airport upon his arrival in the United States in 2024. He had been indicted in December 2023 on 14 counts of wire fraud connected to the scheme.

Prosecutors detailed a fraud operation spanning approximately 15 years, in which Nwadialo and confederates targeted vulnerable individuals, often older adults who were widowed or divorced. Using fake profiles on dating websites like Match, Zoosk, and Christian Café, he frequently posed as a military officer named "Giovanni" deployed overseas. This persona was used to...