Ghanaian influencer charged in New York for deceiving lonely seniors | Fraud

Prominent Ghanaian Instagram influencer pleads not guilty new york She has been charged with allegedly participating in several online “dating schemes” targeting lonely seniors, according to court records.

Arrested in the UK on November 10 and extradited to the US a few days ago, Mona Faiz Montresi is a West African-based “criminal gang” targeting “vulnerable elderly men and women living alone.” was a member According to Manhattan federal prosecutors.

Mr. Montrage’s Instagram profile, Hajia4Real, once had nearly 3.4 million followers and was one of the top 10 most followed profiles in the world. Ghana.

The criminal gang sends victims emails, text messages, and social media messages to indicate they are in a romantic relationship with someone, even though they are actually communicating with the scammers using a false identity. They often deceived victims by making them think that

Once the scammers had earned the trust of their victims, prosecutors argued, they persuaded them to transfer money to their bank accounts under the false belief that they were controlled by their online mistresses.

Criminals urged victims to send money under the guise of payments to send money from abroad to the United States, or sent money to help U.S. military officers obtain funds from Afghanistan.

Prosecutors indicted Montresi, who said he used the real name of one of the victims and even spoke to them on the phone. Prosecutors allege that she sent the victim a marriage certificate from her tribe to prove she was married in Ghana.

Prosecutors say the victim sent Montrege about $89,000 under the guise of helping pay for his father’s farm in Ghana. Montrage allegedly controlled bank accounts that received more than $2 million in illicit funds.

Montrage is charged with six counts of wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money, money laundering, receiving stolen money, and conspiracy to receive stolen money. A lawyer for Montrege did not respond to a request for comment.