BISMARCK — Two Maryland men have been sentenced for a romance fraud scheme that targeted older women on social media.
North Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor sentenced Chinedu Ikenna Nwafor, 42, of Bowie, Maryland, on Tuesday, Dec. 17, to 25 months in prison. Nwafor, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, also was ordered to pay $180,000 in restitution.
Nwafor was part of a scheme where “foreign actors” posed as U.S. military members who were deployed in another country, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in North Dakota. The fake military members contacted “elderly females” on social media and made the women believe they had formed a romantic relationship, the release said.
One New Town, North Dakota, woman was targeted by someone posing as “General Joseph Martins” or “Diplomat David Jones,” the release said.
After forming the fake romances, the “foreign actors” convinced the women to send money to U.S. co-conspirators by making up elaborate stories, such as needing help paying for sudden legal issues, the release said.
Nwafor and Vitus Uzoma Uzowuru, 56, of Glendale, Maryland, served as middlemen who received money from victims and sent the funds to the “foreign actors,” the release said. In one case, Nwafor received a package from the New Town resident with a cashier’s check for $150,000, while Uzowuru received another package from the resident that contained $50,000, the release said.
Uzowuru pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting in mail fraud. He was sentenced in August to 10 months of time served, plus three years of supervised probation.
He also was ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution.
“This sentence shows that romance scammers will face justice in United States District Court when they target the hard-earned savings of North Dakotans,” North Dakota U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider said in a statement. “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.”
A third defendant, Juliet Chinyere Molenda, is scheduled to go to trial on July 24 for wire fraud. Court documents allege a woman from Tioga, North Dakota, met a U.S. Marine on Facebook named Christopher Mahoney in August 2022. Mahoney said he was stationed in Syria and asked the woman to send him advance fees, promising to send her a portfolio worth $5 million in exchange, according to court documents. He also promised to meet her in the U.S., the court documents said. No hometown for Chinyere Molenda was listed.
Mahoney also told the woman he was detained in Belgium and needed her to send him $50,000 so customs would let him go, court documents said.
In total, the woman sent $800,000 to Mahoney, who was being portrayed by a foreign actor, prosecutors said. Molenda was connected to the accounts to where the money was sent, court documents alleged.
Elder fraud can be reported to the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311.
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