Social media personality Mona Faiz Montrage, widely known as Hajia4Real, has acknowledged her involvement in a money laundering scheme linked to romance scams.
As per the United States Attorney’s Office website, Hajia4Real pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to receive stolen money. Today, she admitted to the charge of conspiracy to receive stolen money before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave.
The 31-year-old Ghanaian socialite confessed to a single count of conspiring to receive stolen money, an offense carrying a maximum prison term of five years. Additionally, Montrage has agreed to forfeit and provide restitution of $2,164,758.41. Notably, Hajia4Real changed her legal representation in November 2023, following her separation from Adam Cortez, her previous attorney.
She requested a change in attorney to the US court on November 8, 2023, which was granted on November 9, 2023. Subsequently, she retained the services of Ms. Eleanor Fast from ‘The Fast Law Firm PC’ to handle her case moving forward. The specific reasons for the change in legal representation were not disclosed.
Background:
Hajia4Real was extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom over her alleged involvement in a $2 million romance scam, locally referred to as ‘sakawa,’ targeting older, single Americans in May 2023.
Prosecutors charged her with conspiracy to commit and committing wire fraud and money laundering, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment. She also faced charges of receipt of stolen money, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years, and conspiracy to receive stolen money, with a maximum of five years.
According to prosecutors, from at least 2013 through 2019, Hajia4Real was part of a Criminal Enterprise based in Ghana that perpetrated frauds against individuals and businesses in the United States. The Enterprise frequently conducted romance scams by deceiving victims into believing they were in romantic relationships with fake identities.
Once victims were convinced of the romantic relationships, they were misled into transferring money to bank accounts controlled by members of the Enterprise. Hajia4Real received money from several victims of romance fraud, amounting to over $2 million in fraudulent funds.
Despite initially pleading not guilty to all charges in May 2023 and being released on bail, Hajia4Real reiterated her innocence in a now-deleted Instagram post on June 26, 2023. She thanked her fans for their support during the challenging times and expressed confidence in being vindicated eventually.
