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Toronto, Canada — Police have arrested and charged a 28-year-old Nigerian man, Chimezie Nwabueze, in connection with an online romance scam that allegedly defrauded two victims of over $600,000.
According to Peel Regional Police, between June 2021 and July 2023, Nwabueze engaged in online romantic relationships with the two victims, whom he met through a dating platform.
“The suspect fraudulently claimed to own an oil rig in the Middle East and convinced the victims that he urgently needed money, promising repayment and an eventual in-person meeting,” police stated in a news release issued Friday, May 2, 2025.
Authorities are urging anyone who may have had similar interactions with the suspect to come forward.
Investigators said the victims communicated with the man only electronically and never met him in person.
They added that he apparently cut off all contact after the victims confronted him.
The victims were never reimbursed for the funds, which totaled $610,382, according to Peel Regional Police.
On Monday, 28-year-old Chimezie Nwabueze of Toronto was arrested and charged with multiple offences, including one count each of uttering forged documents, laundering proceeds of crime, participating in the activities of a criminal organization, and instructing the commission of an offence for a criminal organization. He also faces two counts each of fraud over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.
Nwabueze was released on a promise to appear in a Brampton court at a later date.
