Popular Ghanaian Socialite and musician Hajia4Real has agreed to pay over $4M to the American authorities after pleading guilty in a romance scam case.
Hajia4Reall, known in real life as MONA FAIZ MONTRAGE, pleaded guilty to her involvement in laundering the proceeds of a series of romance scams.
This was announced on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
In an official report, Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney said “MONTRAGE pled guilty today to conspiracy to receive stolen money before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave’.
The US Attorney detailed that “Mona Faiz Montrage knowingly received money stolen from older Americans through romance scams and was arrested abroad and now faces serious consequences for her actions.”
“Romance scams such as Montrage’s harmed her vulnerable, elderly victims not only in the cruel betrayal of trust in the realization that their online romantic connection was fiction but by also callously stealing their money…This Office and our law enforcement partners are relentless in bringing fraudsters who target Americans to justice, no matter where they are”.He added
The official report also says that Hajia4Real agreed to pay forfeiture for $2,164,758.41 and make restitution in the same amount.
This means the popular socialite is paying $4,329,516.82 in total, $2,164,758.41 to the victims and will pay the same amount to the U.S. authorities as forfeiture of the proceeds of her crime.
She is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty.