By John Ogunsemore
An Abuja-based businessman, Charles Uchenna Nwadavid on Wednesday, June 25 pleaded guilty to mail fraud, aiding and abetting money laundering and money laundering in a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
In a Thursday statement, the US Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts disclosed that Nwadavid pleaded guilty to involvement in the theft of more than $2.5 million from six romance scam victims by transferring their money to cryptocurrency accounts that he controlled.
According to the statement, Nwadavid was arrested in April 2025 after arriving Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, United States on a flight from the United Kingdom.
Before his arrest, a federal grand jury in Boston indicted him on charges of mail fraud and money laundering in January 2024.
Prosecutors alleged that 2016 and September 2019, Nwadavid participated in romance scams that tricked victims into sending money abroad.
“In an effort to conceal the ultimate recipient of the victims’ funds, a victim from Massachusetts was tricked into receiving funds from five other victims around the United States.
“The victim then passed the funds to Nwadavid through a series of cryptocurrency transactions.
“Nwadavid repeatedly accessed accounts in the victim’s name from overseas, to transfer the victims’ funds to accounts he controlled at LocalBitcoins, an online cryptocurrency platform,” court documents revealed.
Nwadavid will be sentenced by US District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin on September 23, 2025.
“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 is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed,” the statement reads in part.