Nigerian National Faces 20 Years for Laundering Stolen Funds Through Crypto via LocalBitcoins

Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, a Nigerian, faces 20 years of imprisonment for his role in stealing more than $2.5 million from six victims; Nwadavid then converted the money into crypto on the LocalBitcoin exchange.

The 34-year-old Nigerian preyed on the victims’ trust through romance scams by placing advertisements for online relationships on dating or social media websites.

Following an #FBI Boston investigation, Charles Uchenna Nwadavid, of Abuja, Nigeria, has been indicted for allegedly stealing more than $2.5 million from six romance scam victims & transferring their money to cryptocurrency accounts that he controlled. https://t.co/S51gLhxZND pic.twitter.com/sDmlgEfqaT

— FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) April 9, 2025

The Nigerian was arrested on the 7th of April, 2025, after a federal grand jury in Boston indicted him for mail fraud and money laundering. Nwadavid was arrested at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on his arrival from the United Kingdom.

Shortly after the arrest, Nwadavid appeared in court in Fort Worth the next day and was detained, thereafter, pending his appearance in a federal court in Boston at a later date.

Nigerian Man Faces More Charges as He Used Innocent Individual for Crypto Fraud

In addition to the 20 years imprisonment for mail fraud, Nwadavid may also face three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the loss to the victim, restitution and forfeiture.

Also, the money laundering charges can earn Nwadavid 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.

He also faces deportation to Nigeria upon completion of any sentence imposed by the federal district court judge.

The report explained that Nwadavid allegedly carried out the fraud between 2016 and September 2019.

In fact, he concealed his role in the act by using the Massachusetts resident who was also defrauded by Nwadavid to receive other five victims’ funds in the United States.

Afterwards, Nwadavid then asked the Massachusetts resident to send her own fund, including other victims’ funds, to his crypto account via LocalBitcoins exchange on the pretence of an urgent need to procure a multi-million dollar inheritance or fund for an unexpected hospital bill.

LocalBitcoins was a peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange platform based in Helsinki, Finland. However, its operation was cut short in February 2023.

Cryptocurrency is now Widely Used to Launder Illicit Funds

Recently, Chainanalysis released the 2025 Crypto Crime Report. The report highlighted the rising role of cryptocurrency in all forms of crime, however, the report stated crypto’s transparency is creating unique opportunities for investigation.

The report stated that as crypto gains more acceptance and value, illicit on-chain activity, too, attracts more bad actors for easy laundering of their ill-gotten funds. In fact, professionalism is being deployed by the perpetrators.

Earlier, the Deribit exchange warned of rising crypto job scams targeting crypto space professionals via fake LinkedIn recruiters offering exorbitant salaries to gain access to sensitive data or steal people’s assets.

🔗 Read More: https://t.co/lBxPa6B2kZ https://t.co/DFCW6xITdG

— Coinwaft (@coinwaft) March 19, 2025

The exchange urged people to verify offers through the official channels of the alleged employers to combat social engineering tactics.