A U.S. federal court has convicted Nigerian businessman Charles Uche Nwadavid, CEO of construction company Nec Bullion, for his involvement in a sprawling $2.5 million romance scam and international money laundering scheme.
The verdict was announced Thursday by U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and FBI Boston’s Special Agent in Charge, Ted E. Docks. Nwadavid, 35, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to multiple federal charges, including mail fraud, aiding and abetting money laundering, and money laundering.
According to court records, between 2016 and September 2019, Nwadavid led a sophisticated fraud operation in which he and his associates created fake identities on dating websites to lure unsuspecting victims into online relationships. Once emotionally invested, the victims were manipulated into transferring large sums of money, believing they were helping a loved one in distress.
One of the victims, a Massachusetts resident, unknowingly assisted in laundering money from at least five other victims. Prosecutors said Nwadavid transferred much of the stolen funds through cryptocurrency accounts—primarily via the LocalBitcoins platform—to obscure the money trail.
The scheme unraveled after Nwadavid was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2024. He was arrested in April 2025 upon arrival in the United States from the United Kingdom through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Nwadavid is scheduled to be sentenced on September 23, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin. Each count of mail fraud and money laundering carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, along with possible supervised release, hefty fines, restitution to victims, and asset forfeiture.
Following the sentencing, immigration authorities are expected to initiate deportation proceedings to return Nwadavid to Nigeria.
