Charles Nwadavid, a businessman based in Abuja, is set to be sentenced on September 23, 2025, in the United States for his alleged role in a $2.5 million fraud scheme.
This date was fixed following his guilty plea to charges of “mail fraud, aiding and abetting money laundering, and money laundering” before a U.S. district court, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Sunday.
As previously reported by PUNCH Metro in April, the 35-year-old was apprehended upon arrival in the United States on a flight from the United Kingdom to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Prior to his arrest, a federal grand jury in Boston had indicted him in 2024 on counts of mail fraud and money laundering.
Court records reveal that he was allegedly involved in romance scams between 2016 and 2019, through which victims were manipulated into sending money abroad.
The documents stated, “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 victim’s funds to accounts he controlled at LocalBitcoins, an online cryptocurrency platform.”
According to the U.S. DoJ, Nwadavid entered his guilty plea on Thursday, and his sentencing has now been scheduled for September 23, 2025.
The department stated, “A Nigerian national pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to his 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.
“Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, 35, of Abuja, Nigeria, pleaded guilty to mail fraud, aiding and abetting money laundering, and money laundering. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for Sept. 23, 2025.”
According to the statement, Nwadavid faces a potential 40-year prison sentence, a $750,000 fine, and likely deportation.
“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,” in line with the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
