A high-profile Ghanaian Instagram influencer has pleaded not guilty to New York charges for her alleged role in several online “romance schemes” that targeted lonely seniors, court records indicate.
Mona Faiz Montrage, who was arrested on 10 November in the UK and extradited to the US several days ago, was part of a West Africa-based “criminal enterprise” that targeted “vulnerable, older men and women who lived alone”, according to Manhattan federal prosecutors.
Montrage, whose Instagram profile Hajia4Reall once had about 3.4 million followers, was one of the 10 most followed profiles in Ghana.
The criminal outfit often sent victims emails, as well as text and social media messages, that tricked them into thinking they were in romantic relationships with someone, when in reality they were communicating with a scammer using a fake identity.
Once the con artist cohort gained victims’ trust, they convinced them to send money to bank accounts under the false belief that they were controlled by their online paramours, prosecutors alleged.
The criminals goaded their victims to send money under the guise of payments to send gold to the US from abroad, as well as money to help a US army officer get funds from Afghanistan.
Montrage, prosecutors charged, used her real name with one victim and also spoke with them by phone. She allegedly sent this victim a tribal marriage certificate claiming to demonstrate they were married in Ghana, prosecutors allege.
This victim transferred Montrage about $89,000 under the false pretense of assisting with costs involving her father’s farm in Ghana, prosecutors said. Montrage allegedly controlled bank accounts that took in more than $2m in illicit funds.
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Montrage is charged with six counts, on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money-laundering conspiracy, money laundering, receipt of stolen money and conspiracy to receive stolen money. Montrage’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
