Jay Clayton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that NADINE JAZIMNE WADE was sentenced to 63 months in prison for laundering more than $2 million in fraud proceeds acquired from the victims of romance fraud schemes. WADE’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla who also presided over a two-week trial at which WADE was convicted of money laundering and bank fraud charges.
“This criminal ran a de facto clearing house for an international fraud ring, laundering the proceeds of deception through a shell company she had the gall to name ‘Royal Treasure Chest,’” said Patrick Freaney, special agent in charge at the U.S. Secret Service’s New York Field Office. “The lengthy prison sentence and millions of dollars in both forfeiture and restitution reflect the ruin these crimes foisted upon innocent victims. I commend the work of our partners at the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and the Southern District of New York for their dedication in building a strong case and taking down this operation.”
“Nadine Wade used lies and deception to launder over two million dollars for scam artists in Nigeria and South Africa,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Those funds were stolen from our most vulnerable – elderly men and women — as part of a cruel romance scam. Today’s sentence should be a reminder that this Office will pursue all persons who participate in online scams targeting our elderly.”
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 U.S. Those co-conspirators used aliases, including the names “Diego Francisco” and “Richard Francisco” (the “Francisco Alias”), to meet victims on various dating websites. 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 Francisco Alias then instructed the victims to transfer funds to bank accounts controlled by WADE and others.
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. Once WADE received fraud proceeds, she rapidly depleted her bank accounts of those funds through cash withdrawals, cashier’s checks, and the purchase of vehicles, among other means. After taking her own cut of the money, WADE transferred the bulk of the funds to other members of the scheme.
From in or about 2016 through in or about 2021, WADE controlled more than 18 bank accounts that had deposits totaling over $2 million. 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.
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In addition to the prison term, WADE, 30, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,772,618 and forfeit $2,261,791.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the U.S. Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.
This case is being handled by the 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.
Contact
Nicholas Biase, Shelby Wratchford
(212) 637-2600