Lawyers of Montrage Faiz, a socialite known as Hajia4Reall, commented on her admission of guilt on Wednesday, February 21.
The Fast Law Firm, located in New York, posted on Instagram that their client's plea does not determine her identity or character.
"Ms. Montrage's plea is not a reflection of who she is as a person or who she has become today. Ms Montrage is grateful for the support of her fans, family, and legal team throughout this process," the law firm stated in an Instagram post.
They also clarified that, unlike some reports, Hajia4Reall willingly took a flight from Heathrow to JFK to face the charges against her.
They further said that their client has accepted responsibility for her bank account being used to receive money from an illegal activity that ended in 2019.
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced on Wednesday, February 21, that Mona Faiz Montrage pleaded guilty to her involvement in laundering money from a series of romance scams.
Montrage admitted to conspiring to receive stolen money before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave. This plea could result in a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Hajia4Reall also agreed to forfeit $2,164,758.41 and pay the same amount as restitution. She is expected to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty.
Background
In May 2023, it was reported that Hajia4Reall was extradited from the UK to the US to face criminal charges that included conspiring to defraud and receive money from romance scams.
According to the US Attorney, Montrage was part of a criminal group (the "Enterprise") based in West Africa that committed various frauds against individuals and businesses in the U.S., including romance scams.
Many of the victims of the Enterprise's romance scams were elderly, lonely men and women.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the Enterprise often carried out romance scams by sending the victims emails, text messages, and social media messages.
He said the messages tricked the victims into thinking that they were in romantic relationships with someone who was a fake persona created by members of the Enterprise.
After members of the Enterprise had successfully persuaded victims that they were in love and had earned their trust, they convinced the victims, under pretenses, to send money to bank accounts.
The victims thought the accounts were owned by their romantic partners, but they were controlled by members of the Enterprise.
According to court documents, Hajia4Reall received money from several victims of romance scams who were duped by members of the Enterprise.
Some of the false reasons used to get victims to send money to Montrage were payments to ship gold to the U.S. from overseas, payments to end a fake FBI investigation, and payments to help a fake U.S. Army officer get funds from Afghanistan.
In total, Montrage controlled bank accounts that received over $2 million in illicit funds from the Enterprise.
Recommended:
0 Comments