Hajia4Reall: Mona Montrage Faiz Extradited To The US Over $2m Romance Scam, 5 Facts We've Gathered
- Hajia4Reall has been extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom to face charges over an alleged 2 million dollar romance scam
- Details of Hajia4Reall's case have emerged indicating that she has been charged for six offences among other things
- An Accra-based legal practitioner, Leslie Oku, has also helped to explain the possible outcome of her trial
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Socialite, singer, and actress Mona Montrage Faiz, known as Hajia4Reall or Mona4Reall, has been extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States over an alleged fraud case.
Hajia4Reall is alleged to have taken part in a romance scam involving about two million dollars, which translates to GH₵20 million.
YEN.com.gh has compiled all the facts that there is to know about Hajia4Reall's extradition and prosecution in the US as sighted in a statement released on the US Department of Justice (DOJ) website by the District Attorney.
1. Hajia4Reall's arrest in the UK and extradition to US:
Hajia4Reall was arrested in the UK on November 10, 2022, and was extradited to the US on Friday, May 12, 2023.
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The DOJ's statement suggests that reports of Hajia4Reall's arrest that surfaced in the middle of November 2022 must have been true.
2. Hajia4Reall accused of scamming $2m in romance fraud:
The mother of one has been accused of scamming victims to the tune of more than two million dollars in romance scams, which were targeted at older people.
She is said to have used her real name in one of her schemes where: "The victim sent MONTRAGE approximately 82 wire transfers totalling approximately $89,000 to purportedly help with costs associated with MONTRAGE’s father’s farm in Ghana."
3. Hajia4Reall's scam operations and duration:
Prosecutors indicated that the singer was part of a syndicate operating in West Africa, described as the Enterprise in the DOJ document.
Hajia4Reall is believed to have been part of the Enterprise from 2013 to 2019 and controlled bank accounts that received over $2 million in fraudulent funds from the Enterprise.
4. Hajia4Reall slapped with 6 charges:
Appearing in court, Hajia4Reall was charged with six offences. One count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and one count of money laundering.
She is also charged with one count of receipt of stolen money and one count of conspiracy to receive stolen money.
5. Hajia4Reall faces a possible 20-year jail term:
If found guilty, Hajia4Reall could face a 20-year jail term in the United States. The first four offences carry a maximum sentence of 20 years each, while the last two carry 10 years.
Hajia4Reall may need to cut a deal to save herself
Following the situation of Hajia4Reall's case, an Accra-based legal practitioner, Leslie Oku, has explained some of the possibilities surrounding it.
According to Lawyer Oku, the evidence against the Ghanaian singer seems to be watertight and she may need to do unconventional things to get herself off the hook.
For him, the best way for Hajia4Reall to avoid a jail term may be for her to cut a deal to give away her accomplices.
"It is a long term investigation which has some interesting pieces of evidence. On the face of it, it does not look good for Hajia but since she is not the main leader of the supposed syndicate, she can cut a deal and may be save herself from jail," he said.
On the possible sentence, Lawyer Oku opined that though a judge can decide to make convicts serve the terms of each charge consecutively, the regular occurrence is usually for the convicts to serve the terms for different charges at the same time.
"The judge can make Hajia4Reall serve an accumulated 100 years in jail if found guilty on all six charges, that is 20 each for the first four charges and 10 each for the last two.
"But I don't forsee that happening. Even if she is found guilty on all charges, she will like serve the terms concurrently as it is usually the norm. Moreover, Hajia has a child which could be a good mitigating factor when the judge is sentencing," he added.
Oboy Siki supports Hajia4Reall after her extradition
Meanwhile, Kumaood actor Oboy Siki has shown support to Hajia4reall following her extradition to the US.
The controversial actor said he supports the actress because foreigners have stolen a lot from Ghana and Africa.
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Source: YEN.com.gh