A United States court has indicted a Nigerian national, Tochukwu Nwaneri, alongside his associate, Vickie Smith, over their alleged involvement in a $20 million fraud scheme.
The defendants were charged for their roles in an advance-fee loan fraud in which they allegedly defrauded an Idaho-based business owner of more than $20m.
According to the United States Department of Justice, the duo orchestrated the scheme by falsely promising the victim access to a $140m business loan purportedly arranged through a Singapore-based lender, in exchange for substantial upfront fees.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Department of Justice disclosed that the defendants “were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple counts of wire fraud and money laundering.
“If convicted, Mr Nwaneri and Smith each face a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy and wire fraud counts and up to 10 years for each count of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.”
Nwaneri, 51, made his first court appearance on Wednesday before a U.S. Magistrate, Raymond E. Patricco, nearly two months after his co-defendant, Smith, 66, appeared in court on October 22, 2025.
The indictment revealed that the defendants allegedly diverted the advance fees paid by the victim for personal use, wiring portions of the funds to offshore bank accounts and family members.
While the court is expected to determine their sentences if convicted, a date for Nwaneri’s sentencing has not yet been fixed.
