A 28-year-old Nigerian residing in Toronto, Canada, Chimezie Nwabueze, has been arrested by police and is facing multiple charges for allegedly defrauding two victims of over $600,000 through an online romance scam.
According to a statement published on its website, the Peel Regional Police said the victims were led to believe they were in a legitimate romantic relationship with the suspect between June 2021 and July 2023 after connecting with him on an online dating platform.
“The suspect fraudulently claimed to own an ‘Oil Rig’ in the Middle East and urgently needed money, promising repayment, and an eventual meeting.
“The victims only communicated with him electronically and never met in person,” the statement partly read.
After the victims confronted the suspect, he reportedly cut off all communication, and they were never reimbursed for the financial loss which totaled $610,382.
The police revealed that on April 28, Nwabueze was charged with one count each of uttering forged documents, laundering proceeds of crime, participating in activities of criminal organisation, and instructing commission of offence for criminal organisation, as well as two counts each of fraud over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.
He was released afterwards on an undertaking and will appear later before the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton.
The Peel Regional Police (PRP) stated that fraud investigators believe there may be additional victims and that Chimezie Nwabueze is part of a broader criminal network targeting older adult dating websites to exploit vulnerable or trusting individuals for financial gain.
Nwabueze was previously arrested by the PRP in November 2023 for using a similar method to defraud another victim of more than $250,000, a case that is currently ongoing in court.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.