African influencer charged in romance scam, stole shs 7 billion from victims
Influential Ghanaian musician and socialite Mona Faiz Montrage, popularly known as Hajia4Real, has been extradited to the US and charged with a $2m (shillings 7.4 billion) romance scam.
The criminal enterprise she allegedly belonged to targeted lonely American men and women - and in one instance faked married to one victim to further her scheme.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in a statement indicated she had been charged with several counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering.
She could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail for each count if found guilty.
She was also charged with conspiracy to receive and the receipt of stolen money, which carry maximum sentences of five and 10 years respectively.
The 30-year-old was arrested on 10 November last year in the UK then extradited to the US on Friday.
Alleged tricks
The unsealed indictment said Hajia4Reall in pursuit of her alleged scam activities committed offenses including opening multiple bank accounts in the US for the receipt of payments from her victims.
“On or about September 15, 2016, Mona Faiz Montrage, the defendant opened a business bank account in the name of 4Reall Desigsn in the Bronx. New York (“Account-1”).
“On or about November 1, 2018, Montrage received into Account-1 two check deposits from a romance scam victim (“Victim-2”) totalling at least approximately $195,000,” the Grand Jury indictment said.
She pleaded not guilty to all charges when she appeared before a judge on Monday.
US authorities have expressed concern about romance scams targeting older people and expressed the need to hold perpetrators to account.
Montrage is alleged to have been part of a criminal enterprise in West Africa that defrauded companies and individuals, including romance scams in the US between 2013 and 2019.
Source: BBC & GhanaWeb
