In the context of the announcement, Williams said, “Nadine Wade used a sham women’s clothing company as a front to launder over $2 million in fraud proceeds on behalf of scam artists in Nigeria and South Africa. The romance scams perpetrated by Wade’s partners were cruel, targeting vulnerable, elderly men and women and tricking them into transferring their life savings to the defendant, who then took her cut and sent the money to other members of the scheme.”

He added, “Money launderers who assist online scammers abroad will be held accountable for their crimes by this Office.”

According to the indictment, statements made in public court proceedings and filings, and the evidence at trial, from in or about 2016 through in or about 2021, co-conspirators of Wade, based in Nigeria and South Africa, committed a series of romance scams against individuals located across the United States.

The court heard that those co-conspirators used aliases, including the names “Diego Francisco” and “Richard Francisco” (the “Francisco Alias”), to meet victims on various dating websites. The court heard that the co-conspirators used online photographs of a male model when providing victims with photos of the Francisco Alias.

According to the indictment, after engaging in romantic conversations with the victims via phone, text, and email, those co-conspirators, posing as the Francisco Alias, asked victims for money. The court heard that the reasons why the Francisco Alias needed money varied.

According to court records, in one version of the scheme, the Francisco Alias supposedly worked on an oil rig and needed funds to repair the rig. The court heard that the Francisco Alias then instructed the victims to transfer funds to bank accounts controlled by Wade and others. According to court records, the means of transfer also varied. In some cases, for example, the Francisco Alias instructed victims to obtain cashier’s checks made payable to Wade or her shell company, and to mail those checks to Wade.

The court heard that Wade received fraud proceeds from victims of the Francisco Alias in personal bank accounts and business bank accounts for her shell company Royal Treasure Chest LLC, a company purportedly involved in, among other things, the sale of women’s clothing and accessories.

According to court records, once Wade received fraud proceeds, she rapidly depleted her bank accounts of those funds through, among other means, cash withdrawals, cashier’s checks, and the purchase of vehicles. The court heard that after taking her own cut of the money, Wade transferred the bulk of the funds to other members of the scheme.

The court also heard that from in or about 2016, through in or about 2021, Wade controlled more than 18 bank accounts that had deposits totaling over $2 million. According to court records, most of those deposits consisted of wire transfers and check or cash deposits from U.S.-based individuals who were victims of the romance fraud scam described above.

Wade was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; and one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided for informational purposes only. Any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Williams praised the outstanding work of the U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation for their assistance in this investigation.

The case is being handled by the federal prosecutor office’s general crimes unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Micah F. Fergenson, Matthew J. King, and Dina McLeod are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Jayda Foote.