Hajia4Real, Popular Ghanaian influencer, enters a guilty plea to obtaining fraudulent money from online romance schemes
As per the official report from the US Attorney’s Office, on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that MONA FAIZ MONTRAGE had entered a guilty plea; “MONTRAGE pled guilty today to conspiracy to receive stolen money before U.S. Magistrate Judge,” the report stated, referring to her role in laundering the proceeds of a string of romantic scam.
The popular Ghanaian Influencer Mona Faiz Montrage popularly known as Hajia4Real entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to receive stolen money, which entails a five-year maximum jail sentence. The Ghanaian influencer additionally consented to make restitution in the same amount and forfeit $2,164,758.41.
In May, 2023, according to Damian Williams “As alleged, Mona Faiz Montrage was a member of a criminal conspiracy that specifically targeted older Americans through romance scams. These scams can be both financially and emotionally devastating for vulnerable victims”.
The influencer was arrested in the United Kingdom, and extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States on 12th of May, 2023 with the collaboration of US security agents and UK partners
U.S Attorney Damian Williams also mentioned; the frail, elderly victims of romance scams like Montrage’s suffered not just from the callous theft of their money but also from the brutal betrayal of trust upon discovering that their online romantic.
