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Ghanaian socialite Mona Faiz Montrage, known as Hajia4Reall, has confessed to her involvement in a $2 million romance scam, according to the United States Attorney’s Office statement released on Wednesday.
Hajia4Reall pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to receive stolen money, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. She has also agreed to forfeit $2,164,758.41 and make restitution in the same amount. Sentencing will be conducted by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty at a later date.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, emphasized the seriousness of the crime, stating that Mona Faiz Montrage knowingly accepted money stolen from older Americans through romance scams and will face significant legal consequences.
He highlighted the impact of the scam on vulnerable elderly victims who were deceived into believing they had genuine romantic connections online, only to realize they were victims of fraud.
Williams stated, “This Office and our law enforcement partners are relentless in bringing fraudsters who target Americans to justice, no matter where they are.”
Background:
Hajia4Reall, a socialite turned musician, was extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom in May 2023 over her alleged involvement in a $2 million romance scam targeting older, single Americans, locally known as ‘sakawa’.
Prosecutors charged her with conspiracy to commit and committing wire fraud and money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.
The Enterprise, as described by prosecutors, frequently conducted romance scams by deceiving victims into believing they were in romantic relationships with a fake identity assumed by members of the Enterprise.
Hajia4Reall received money from several victims of romance frauds who were tricked into sending money. False pretenses used to induce victims included payments to transport gold to the U.S. from overseas, payments to resolve a fake FBI investigation, and payments to assist a fake U.S. Army officer in receiving funds from Afghanistan.
In total, Hajia4Reall controlled bank accounts that received over $2 million in fraudulent funds from the Enterprise.
Initially pleading not guilty to all charges in May 2023, she was later released on bail.
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