21/02/2024
Ghanaian socialite, Hajia4Reall is said to have pleaded guilty to receiving fraud proceeds from romance scams in a US court.
According to a press release from the US Department of Justice, Hajia4Reall, known as MONA FAIZ MONTRAGE “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. The Enterprise frequently conducted the romance scams by sending the victims emails, text messages, and social media messages that deceived the victims into believing that they were in romantic relationships with a person who was, in fact, a fake identity assumed by members of the Enterprise. Once members of the Enterprise had successfully convinced victims that they were in a romantic relationship and had gained their trust, they convinced the victims, under false pretenses, to transfer money to bank accounts the victims believed were controlled by their romantic interests, when, in fact, the bank accounts were controlled by members of the Enterprise.”
The statement continues “MONTRAGE is a Ghanaian public figure who rose to fame as an influencer through her Instagram profile under the username “Hajia4Reall,” which at one point had approximately 3.4 million Instagram followers and was among the top 10 profiles with the most followers in Ghana.
MONTRAGE 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.
MONTRAGE, 31, of Accra, Ghana, pled guilty to one count of conspiring to receive stolen money, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. MONTRAGE also agreed to pay forfeiture in the amount of $2,164,758.41 and make restitution in the same amount. MONTRAGE is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty.”
Hajia4Reall in an apparent response to the publication, posted on instagram the attached photo with the caption “Lessons learned, we move”.
