Lawyers for Ghanaian Socialite, Hajia 4Reall have expressed satisfaction over a verdict by a US court to sentence Hajia4Reall to a year jail term on Friday, June 28.
Even though her attorneys had requested a sentence of three months, the judge slapped the Ghanaian socialite with a year and a day jail term in the case of U.S. v. Mona Montrage, 22 cr 617 (JPO).
Her defense team is relieved by the court’s decision which successfully meets their argument for a reduced term compared to the government’s request for 37 to 46 months of incarceration.
“After a 1.5-hour sentencing, U.S. v. Mona Montrage, 22 cr 617 (JPO) comes to a close. Our client was sentenced 12 months and 1 day, over the Government’s request for 37 to 46 months of incarceration.
“We are incredibly proud of the advocacy done on our client’s behalf and the result achieved. Our client will be issuing a statement when she is ready,” her legal team, Fast Law PLC announced following the sentencing.
Background
Hajia4Reall was hit with a six-count Indictment charges for her role in a series of romance schemes and for laundering the proceeds of those schemes.
She was arrested in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2022, and was extradited from the United Kingdom on May 12, 2023.
In February 2024, she pleaded guilty to the charges before a US Court and her lawyers have since pleaded for a reduced sentence of three months because she is a single mother whose presence in the life of her child is very imperative.
But the US Attorney’s Office has countered strongly, citing similar cases to argue for the full 37-month term.
To the US Attorney’s Office, a reduced sentence will not be fair and will not serve as a proper deterrent to people.
Ghanaian socialite, Hajia4Real named the father of her daughter as the man who introduced her to internet fraud.
According to her, she met Allison in 2015 and fell in love with him in the United States of America without having any knowledge of his fraudulent activities.
She later discovered he was into fraud, something he introduced her to and got her involved in.
Reports suggest that Hajia4Reall was involved in a $2 million romance scam. She allegedly communicated with one of her victims multiple times and received wire transfers totalling $89,000, purportedly to fund an unexisting business, ‘The Enterprise’.
On Friday, June 28, Hajia4Reall was sentenced to prison for a year and a day without ICE detention.
She will not be held for an additional 48hours in prison when released rather, she will be sent to the airport directly to be brought to Ghana.
In May 2023, it was reported that Hajia4Reall has been extradited from the UK to the United States to face criminal charges against her which included conspiracy to fraud and receive proceeds of over $2 million from romance scams.
According to the US Attorney, from at least in or about 2013 through in or about 2019, Montrage was a member of a criminal enterprise (the “Enterprise”) based in West Africa that committed a series of frauds against individuals and businesses in the U.S. including romance scams.
Many of the Enterprise’s romance scam victims were vulnerable, older men and women who lived alone.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said the Enterprise frequently conducted the romance scams by sending the victims emails, text messages, and social media messages.
According to court documents, Hajia4Reall received money from several victims of romance frauds who members of the Enterprise tricked into sending money.
Among the false pretenses used to induce victims to send money to Montrage were 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, Montrage controlled bank accounts that received over $2 million in fraudulent funds from the Enterprise.
Source: 3news
