Nigerian suspects tracked US custody

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The globe-spanning crypto romance scam, which poured $2.5 million through a digital wallet, has been unraveled, revealing the mastermind staring at the back of the bar forty years later.

The federal government cornered suspects with a $2.5 million crypto fraud – now he faces 40 years of prison

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on April 9 that a Nigerian man was accused of adjusting a complex romance fraud that allegedly fraudulent $2.5 million in Massachusetts and routing those funds to secretly controlled cryptocurrency accounts.

Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, 34, was arrested at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on April 7th after arriving on a flight from the UK. Prosecutors say Nwadavid has been accused of running the 2016-2019 romance scams, targeting individuals across the United States. The scheme is said to have involved creating fake online identities to establish a deceptive romantic relationship with the victim. One of those victims, a Massachusetts woman, unwittingly became a conduit for transferring money from five other individuals targeted. DOJ pointed out:

Nwadavid is said to have since been tricked into handing victim 1 and other victim money to him through cryptocurrency transactions, accessing his account from abroad in the name of victim 1 and transferring the victim’s funds to an account managed by the online cryptocurrency platform LocalBitcoins.

The Federal Jury in Boston had indicted him in January 2024 for counting mail fraud and money laundering. He is in custody after appearing in federal court in Texas and is expected to be moved to Boston for further legal proceedings. Officials say the use of digital assets allowed Nwadavid to obscure the source of funds while maintaining direct access from abroad.

If convicted, Nwadavid could face serious legal consequences. “A mail fraud claim provides for up to 20 years of prison, three years of supervised release, fines, compensation and forfeiture of up to $250,000 or twice the loss to the victim,” the Justice Department detailed, adding:

Money laundering fees can be fined up to $500,000 or twice the amount of property involved in prison for up to 20 years, supervised release for three years, laundry, compensation, and forfeiture.