On May 4, 2025, the Peel Regional Police in Toronto, Ontario, Canada arrested 28-year-old Nigerian national Chimezie Nwabueze for stealing CA$610,382 through an online romance scam, where he posed as an owner of an oil rig in the middle east who urgently needed money. He has since been charged with:
- Fraud over $5,000 (2ct)
- Possession of property obtained by crime (2ct)
- Uttering forged documents
- Laundering proceeds of crime
- Participating in activities of a criminal organization.
- Instructing the commission of an offence by a criminal organization.
Though released on a promise to appear in a Brampton court at a later date, this wasn’t the first time he was caught facilitating such a romance scam, as he was arrested in November, 2023 for stealing over CA$250,000 from another victim. That case is still before the courts.