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Ghanaian influencer Mona Faiz Montrage, popularly known as Hajia4Reall or Mona4Reall, has been extradited from the UK to the US on charges of being involved in a $2 million romance scam that targeted older, single American men and women. As reported by the New York Post, the socialite appeared in Manhattan federal court on May 15, 2023, where she pleaded not guilty to the charges and was set to be released on a $500,000 bond with GPS tracking through an ankle monitor. Mona’s lawyer, Adam Cortez, confirmed that she received money from others who were swindled by scammers in her network. The charges against her include wire fraud, money laundering, receipt of stolen money, and conspiracy, and if convicted on the top charge, she could face up to 20 years in prison.
According to court documents, Mona4Reall was part of a group of scammers from West Africa that targeted vulnerable people from at least 2013 through 2019. The victims were tricked into transferring money under false pretences, such as to help move gold to the US from overseas, resolve bogus FBI investigations, and to make payments to fake US Army officers in Afghanistan. Mona was allegedly involved in a case where she duped a victim into sending her $89,000 through 82 wire transfers, claiming the money was to help her father’s farm in Ghana. She also sent the victim a tribal marriage certificate after a series of phone conversations using her real identity, tricking the person into believing they were married.
Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams released a statement stating that Mona’s extradition was made possible by the efforts of law enforcement partners, and that “These scams can be both financially and emotionally devastating for vulnerable victims.” Mona was arrested in the UK on November 10, 2022, for her alleged involvement in the conspiracy and was brought to the US on May 12, 2023. According to the New York Post, Mona’s Instagram profile was among the top 10 most followed in Ghana, and she allegedly laundered the stolen money to other members of the enterprise. Mona can only travel in certain parts of New York and New Jersey pending her case.
