Source: Office of United States Attorneys
BISMARCK – United States Attorney Mac Schneider announced that on December 17, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel M. Traynor sentenced Chinedu Ikenna Nwafor, age 42, from Bowie, Maryland, to serve 25 months in federal prison, 3 years of supervised release, and payment of $180,000.00 in restitution after he pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud for participating in a romance fraud scheme that targeted elderly women.
Additionally, on August 8, 2024, Judge Traynor sentenced Nwafor’s codefendant, Vitus Uzoma Uzowuru, age 56, from Glendale, Maryland, to time served imprisonment, which amounted to approximately 10 months’ imprisonment, 3 years of supervised release, and payment of $50,000.00 in restitution after he pleaded guilty to Aiding and Abetting Mail Fraud for participating in a romance fraud scheme that targeted elderly women.
Finally, on April 12, 2023, a federal grand jury located within the District of North Dakota returned an Indictment charging Juliet Chinyere Molenda with Wire Fraud related to her participation in a romance fraud scheme. The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota has scheduled her trial date for July 24, 2025, before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland. An indictment is an accusation and notice of charges. Juliet Molenda is presumed innocent under the law unless and until proven guilty.
As noted in court documents filed by the United States Attorney’s Office—which documents the nature and extent of this romance fraud scheme—foreign actors falsely and fraudulently posed as high-ranking United States military members, stated they were deployed to a foreign country, and created fake social media or internet profiles, which advanced these falsehoods. Thereafter, the foreign actors, while falsely pretending to be military members, targeted elderly females by contacting them through social media or internet profiles and entered into what the romance fraud victims believed were legitimate romantic relationships. Over time, the foreign actors cultivated the romance fraud victims trust and fraudulently induced them to send money at their request to United States based coconspirators, including Nwafor, Uzowuru, and Molenda, normally by concocting elaborate and false stories that convinced the victims to send money to these coconspirators—such as requesting that the victims pay for a sudden legal issue or customs dispute that prevented the purported military officer or his property from traveling to the United States.
Nwafor served as a United States based middleman to the foreign actors by obtaining money from romance fraud victims and then sent a large portion of these funds to the international actors. As noted in court documents, Nwafor admitted that he received a package from a New Town, North Dakota, victim that contained a $150,000.00 cashier’s check, which foreign actors fraudulently obtained from this New Town victim as part of a romance fraud scheme by posing as either a “General Joseph Martins” or a “Diplomat David Jones.” Uzowuru also served as a United States based middleman to both Nwafor and the foreign actors. As noted in court documents, Uzowuru admitted that he also received a package from the New Town, North Dakota, victim that contained $50,000.00, which foreign actors fraudulently obtained from this New Town, North Dakota, victim.
“This sentence shows that romance scammers will face justice in United States District Court when they target the hard-earned savings of North Dakotans,” Schneider said. “It’s also a reminder to be vigilant about protecting yourself and your loved ones against schemes like this one. Fraudsters will be pursued by law enforcement and prosecuted federally for their crimes, but the best course is to prevent fraud before it occurs.”
“These individuals preyed on the trust and emotions of vulnerable victims, exploiting their desire for connection,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. “Today’s sentencing serves as a reminder that the FBI will continue to investigate and dismantle these scams, working to safeguard the American people from such exploitation.”
To report elder fraud, contact the dedicated National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or 1-833-372-8311and visit the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center at IC3.gov.
To learn more about the U.S. Department of Justice’s elder justice efforts, please visit the Elder Justice Initiative page HERE.
Further, please visit the US Attorney’s Office’s press release on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day for awareness and increased understanding of the many forms of elder abuse, as well as resources available to those at-risk HERE.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the Williams County Sheriff’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan J. O’Konek.
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