Ghanaian Socialite and Influencer, Hajia4Reall has been sentenced to jail by a US Court to one year and a day for romance scam charges.
Hajia4Reall whose real name is Montrage Faiz was sentenced on Friday, June 28 after she pleaded guilty to romance scam charges in February 2024.
The sentencing occurred in New York under U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken.
Her sentencing is without Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention. This means that Hajia4Reall will not be held in jail for an extra 48hours after serving her jail term.
She will be allowed to fly back directly from prison to Ghana on the day she is released from custody.
Inner City Press, a news website based in the US which reports on criminal cases, says Hajia4Reall’s sentencing is without no ICE detention as opposed to the case of many non-US citizens and the extra day is to allow for ‘good time credit’.
VLOG II June 28: Ghana influencer Mona Faiz Montrage a/k/a @Hajia4Reall
was this afternoon sentenced to a year and a day in US prison then flight straight back to Ghana, no ICE – @SDNYLIVE Inner City Press thread: https://t.co/nv5NDDuPCK pic.twitter.com/SAOVBRrS6D— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) June 28, 2024
After pleading guilty to the romance scam schemes, Hajia4Reall’s lawyers pleaded with the court for a three-month sentence because she is a single mother whose presence in the life of her child is very imperative
But the US Attorney’s Office countered strongly, citing similar cases to argue for the full 37-month term.
To the US Attorney’s Office, a reduced sentence will not be fair and will not serve as a proper deterrent to people.
Hajia4Reall named the father of her daughter as the man who introduced her to internet fraud.
According to her, she met Allison in 2015 and fell in love with him in the United States of America without having any knowledge of his fraudulent activities.
She later discovered he was into fraud, something he introduced her to and got her involved in.
Hajia4Reall was hit with a six-count Indictment charges for her role in a series of romance schemes and for laundering the proceeds of those schemes.
She was arrested in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2022, and was extradited from the United Kingdom on May 12, 2023.
Below is a conversation which ensued between the Judge and the US Attorney moments before her sentencing as reported by Inner City Press.
Judge: The guideline is 37 to 46 months.
Assistant US Attorney: The victims were vulnerable senior citizens. Some were promised marriage; they sent and lost money. Middlemen received 10%.
US Attorney: Defendant participated in this scheme for six years. 32 victims lost $1.4 million. Meanwhile Ms. Montrage reinvented herself in Ghana.
Judge: I sentence Ms Montrage to one year and one day in prison, the extra day to allow “good time.”
Defense: We propose she be allowed to fly back to Ghana as soon as she is released, with no ICE detention
US Attorney: We consent
