Two face federal charges in alleged $20M fraud of a Caldwell business
Two people face federal fraud and money laundering charges after allegedly swindling a Caldwell business out of more than $20 million over a two-year span.
Co-defendants Vickie Smith of Peoria, Arizona, and Nigerian citizen Tochukwu Nwaneri were each indicted on 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, according to federal court records.
Nwaneri appeared in court Tuesday, Dec. 16, while Smith had her initial appearance on Oct. 22.
All together, the charges could total 70 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine for each defendant, according to a Sept. 9 filing from Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittney Davis.
The pair were arrested on Sept. 13 at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Long Island as they boarded a flight to Morocco, court records state. The itinerary continued on to Abuja, Nigeria.
The case centers on an “advanced-fee” fraud scheme in which Smith, 66, and Nwaneri, 51, allegedly used pseudonyms and false promises to claim that they could facilitate a $140 million loan from a Singapore investment firm, provided the recipient pay certain fees up front.
“In reality, as Nwaneri and Smith knew, there were no loan funds to be disbursed to the victim and the various payments the victim sent pursuant to the defendants’ instructions were used for the defendant’s personal expenses, purchase of assets such as luxury cars and real property, and transferred to foreign bank accounts, including accounts in the United Kingdom, China, South Africa, and Nigeria,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. wrote in a motion filed Monday to detain Nwaneri through an upcoming trial.
Nocella’s filing claims that Nwaneri posed as “Dr. Simon Goodwin” to trick an unnamed Caldwell business into 25 wire transfers from November 2023 through April 2025. Smith allegedly used the pseudonym Nina Cheliyan and other names to provide false explanations for the continued fees, including in one instance claiming that the Canyon County business was under foreign investigation, according to the U.S. attorneys.
Meanwhile, the pair are accused of shunting that money into various accounts, including one of a purported charity, and spending the cash.
While neither has an extensive criminal history, Smith and Nwaneri are “classic flight risks” because each was caught with multiple passports and driver’s licenses, Nocella argued.
“In 2024 and 2025, travel records indicate that the defendant traveled to Nigeria six times, Guyana, the United Kingdom, Central African Republic, China, Malaysia, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, and Uganda,” Nocella wrote in an Oct. 21 motion to detain Smith.
Nwaneri has a similar history of travel, according to court documents.
A pretrial conference in the case is set for Feb. 5, 2026.