Peel Regional Police (PRP) have apprehended and charged Chimezie Nwabueze, a Nigerian man residing in Canada, in connection with an alleged online romance scam that defrauded two victims of more than $600,000.
As detailed in a statement from the PRP, Nwabueze is accused of deceiving his victims into believing they were engaged in genuine romantic relationships after meeting through an online dating platform between June 2021 and July 2023.
The suspect purportedly claimed to own an oil rig in the Middle East, fabricating urgent financial needs while assuring his victims that he would repay them and arranging future meetings.
Nwabueze was arrested on Monday, April 28, and faces multiple charges, including two counts of fraud over $5,000, two counts of possession of property obtained by crime, uttering forged documents, laundering proceeds of crime, participation in criminal organisation activity, and instructing the commission of an offence for a criminal organisation.
He has since been released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton at a later date.
