A 31-year-old Nigerian national Uchenna Christian Nlemchi, has been extradited from Hungary to the United States to face charges related to fraud.

A DOJ statement, Nlemchi was extradited from Hungary and made his initial appearance in a federal court in Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 7. He faces multiple charges, including conspiracy, 13 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. 

However, a trial date has not been scheduled, and Nlemchi has been remanded in custody.

Nlemchi was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 24, 2017. 

The indictment alleges that Nlemchi and his co-conspirators registered on online dating platforms to establish romantic relationships with unsuspecting victims. 

Through false pretences, misrepresentations, and deceptive promises, they tricked these individuals into transferring money to them. 

Additionally, the co-conspirators used phishing emails and malware to obtain victims’ email account credentials, enabling them to monitor email exchanges and identify upcoming financial transactions. 

They diverted and stole funds intended for these transactions, transferring them to bank accounts controlled by Nlemchi.

Nlemchi was arrested on these charges in June 2017 and was released on certain conditions pending trial. 

However, he violated the terms of his release in October 2017, resulting in an arrest warrant. 

At that time, Nlemchi fled the country and was believed to have returned to Nigeria. The FBI diligently pursued him for five years until he was finally located in Hungary.