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Anambra LGA chairman arrested in Texas over $3.3m romance scam

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Franklin Nwadialo, a newly elected chairman of Ogbaru LGA in Anambra state, has been arrested in Texas, United States (US), for allegedly running a $3.3 million romance scam.

The US department of justice said in a statement that Nwadialo is facing a 14-count charge and risks a 20-year sentence if found guilty.

The federal bureau of investigation (FBI) reportedly arrested the 40-year-old LGA chairman on arrival in Texas.

He would be transferred to the Western District of Washington for arraignment.

“According to the indictment, Nwadialo used various versions of the name ‘Giovanni’ when he met his victims online on websites such as Match, Zoosk, and Christian Café,” the statement reads.

“Nwadialo used false images for his profile and typically told the victims that he was in the military and deployed overseas so he could not meet the victims in person.

“Using these personas, Nwadialo invented many reasons he needed the victims to send him money.

“In one such case in 2020, he indicated he had been fined by the military for revealing his location to the victim. He asked the victim to help him pay the $150,000 fine. In all, that victim was defrauded of at least $2.4 million.”

The US department of justice cited another instance where the accused contacted a second victim in 2019 to help move funds from US accounts to accounts controlled by him and his co-schemers.

“In this instance, Nwadialo represented that he needed the help moving money in connection with his father’s death. The victim transferred at least $330,000 to the accounts controlled by the defendant,” the department stated.

“A third victim was defrauded by Nwadialo when he told her that he was investing money for her.

“He claimed that a check she received from another victim was proceeds from her investments, and he had her “reinvest” the money in a specific cryptocurrency account that he controlled. The victim transferred at least $270,000 at Nwadialo’s direction.

“Finally, in August 2020, Nwadialo defrauded another victim who he met on an online dating site and caused this victim to transfer at least $310,000 by claiming he needed financial assistance, including help paying for his father’s funeral or his son’s school tuition.

“The 14 counts of wire fraud relate to the communications with Nwadialo and the wiring of funds from victims to the defendant and his co-schemers.”

The case is being prosecuted by Sok Jiang, an assistant United States attorney.

Crime

NDLEA arrests returning businessman for smuggling cocaine

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a businessman identified as an ‘I Just Got Back’ returnee for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country.

Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, shared videos of the seized contraband on X.com on Sunday.

The suspect, who had just returned from a foreign trip, initially raised suspicion due to his nervous demeanour.

NDLEA officials subjected him to a routine screening, during which wraps of cocaine began to fall from his body.

The statement said: “Narco-trend update: The moment #ndlea_nigeria officers intercepted an ‘I Just Got Back’ businessman, screened him, and wraps of cocaine began to ‘rain’ from his body. Who will tell them that NDLEA will always get them no matter the mode of concealment?”

Click the link below to watch the video:

https://x.com/MobilePunch/status/1870746436486181327?t=DaTN7Qj1qhv27-sflE9p6Q&s=19
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Court jails ex-IMF chief Rodrigo Rato for tax fraud, corruption

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Court jails ex-IMF chief Rodrigo Rato for tax fraud, corruption

A Madrid court on Friday sentenced former International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato to more than four years in prison for tax crimes, money laundering and corruption.

Judges found Rato who was also a former economy minister in Spain, guilty of “three offences against the treasury, one offence of money laundering and one offence of corruption between individuals,” the court announced in a statement.

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Paul Pogba’s brother sentenced to prison over extortion

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A Paris court on Thursday sentenced the brother of France midfielder, Paul Pogba, to a three-year prison term, with two years suspended, after convicting him in a high-profile extortion case.

Mathias Pogba will be able to serve his one-year sentence with an electronic bracelet rather than behind bars.

The court also fined Pogba’s brother 20,000 euros for participating in the attempted extortion of 13 million euros ($13.5 million) from Pogba in 2022, and for putting pressure on the player, his family and his business contacts to obtain the payment.

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