MONA Faiz Montrage, a prominent Ghanaian influencer known as ‘Hajia4Reall’ with a massive following on Instagram, has been charged in a series of romance schemes and money laundering activities. The six-count indictment against Montrage was unsealed Monday by Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of
the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Montrage, who was arrested in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2022, was extradited to the United States on May 12, 2023 to face justice. She appeared before US District Judge Paul A. Crotty on Monday.
Accordin
g to US Attorney Damian Williams, Montrage was a member of a criminal conspiracy that targeted older Americans through romance scams. These scams not only resulted in substantial financial losses but also had severe emotional consequences for the vulnerable victims.
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll expressed deep concern over the romance scams orchestrated by Montrage, particularly those targeting elderly individuals. These scams allegedly yielded more than $2 million in fraudulent funds under Montrage’s control.
The indictment reveals that from 2013 to 2019, Montrage was part of a West African-based criminal enterprise that carried out various frauds, including romance scams, against individuals and businesses in the United States.
‘The enterprise predominantly preyed upon vulnerable, elderly men and women who lived alone. By sending deceptive emails, text messages, and social media communications, the perpetrators created fake identities to establish romantic relationships with their victims. Once trust was gained, the victims were tricked into transferring money to bank accounts controlled by the criminal enterprise,’ says the indictment.
The 30-year-old influencer r
eceived funds from several romance fraud victims who were deceived into sending money through false pretences. These pretences included payments for transporting gold from overseas, resolving a fictitious FBI unemployment investigation, and assisting a counterfeit US army officer in accessing funds from Afghanistan.
‘Notably, Montrage went to the extent of using her real name and even provided a tribal marriage certificate to one victim to feign a marriage between them. This victim sent approximately $89,000 via 82 wire transfers, purportedly to support Montrage’s father’s farm in Ghana,’ according to the indictment.
In total, Montrage controlled bank accounts that received more than $2 million in fraud
ulent funds from the criminal enterprise. She now faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, money laundering, receipt of stolen money, and conspiracy to receive stolen money. If convicted, Montrage could face a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud-related charges.
