Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, 34, a resident of Abuja, Nigeria

Folorunsho Alakieja

Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, 34, a resident of Abuja, Nigeria, was taken into custody on April 7, 2025, upon arriving at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport from the United Kingdom. Nwadavid faces charges in the United States for his alleged role in a romance scam that deceived six victims, resulting in losses exceeding $2.5 million.

According to U.S. authorities, he is accused of laundering the embezzled funds through cryptocurrency accounts he controlled. Indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston in January 2024 on charges of mail fraud and money laundering, Nwadavid appeared in a Fort Worth, Texas federal court on April 8, 2025. He was ordered to be detained while awaiting further legal proceedings and is expected to be transferred to Boston for arraignment at a later date. Charging documents detail the alleged scheme as involving "romance scams," where scammers create fake profiles on dating and social media platforms to lure victims into online romantic relationships.

Once trust is established, Nwadavid is said to have manipulated victims into sending money or conducting financial transactions under false pretenses, such as claiming to need funds to access a fictitious multi-million dollar inheritance or to cover unexpected medical expenses. Between 2016 and September 2019, Nwadavid allegedly participated in these scams, tricking victims into transferring money internationally. To conceal his involvement, he reportedly utilized one of the victims, a Massachusetts woman referred to as "Victim 1," as a middleman. Authorities claim Nwadavid persuaded Victim 1 to receive money from five other victims across the U.S. He allegedly instructed her to convert her own funds, as well as those from the other victims, into cryptocurrency and transfer them to digital wallets he managed on the LocalBitcoins platform. Additionally, he reportedly accessed accounts in Victim 1's name from outside the U.S. to facilitate these transactions. If convicted, Nwadavid faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison for each charge, along with three years of supervised release, and fines of up to $250,000 or double the amount lost for the mail fraud charge.

The money laundering charge carries similar penalties, with possible fines reaching $500,000 or double the value of the laundered funds, plus restitution and forfeiture. He may also face deportation after serving any prison time. This announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie A. Queenin of the Criminal Division is handling the prosecution of the case.