A Nigerian man has been sentenced to 115 months in a US prison for running a decade-long romance and internet fraud scheme that scammed at least 23 victims out of more than $700,000.
Charles Nnamdi Emesim, 53, a legal resident of Newark, New Jersey, was sentenced Wednesday by US District Judge Robert Wier for conspiracy to commit money laundering. The US Department of Justice announced the sentence on Thursday.
Prosecutors said Emesim received and laundered proceeds from romance scams, lottery fraud, inheritance scams, investment fraud, government imposter schemes, and fake medical expense scams between Dec. 9, 2013, and June 28, 2024.
He operated at least 17 bank accounts under his name and under his companies, Chadon Export and Chadon Trucking. Victims across the US sent money via cash deposits, cashier’s checks, money transfers, and wire payments into those accounts.
One victim, a senior citizen and widow in Kentucky, was allegedly targeted in a romance scam. She believed she was in a relationship with a man calling himself “Michael Oliver,” who later introduced her to a fake “customs agent,” Samuel Rock, to supposedly help transfer wealth.
Emesim’s sentence comes amid increased US crackdowns on transnational fraud rings targeting elderly and vulnerable Americans.
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