A US court has sentenced Ghanaian socialite and influencer Hajia4Reall to one year and a day in prison for offenses related to romance scams.
In February 2024, Hajia4Reall, whose true name is Montrage Faiz, entered a guilty plea to charges of romance scamming. She was sentenced on Friday, June 28.
Under the direction of U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken, the sentence was given in New York.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention is not a part of her sentence. This implies that after serving her jail sentence, Hajia4Reall won’t be kept behind bars for an additional 48 hours.
On the day she gets released from detention, she will be permitted to return immediately to Ghana by plane from prison.
Inner City Press, a news website headquartered in the US which covers on criminal cases, states Hajia4Reall’s sentencing is without no ICE custody as opposed to the case of many non-US nationals and the extra day is to allow for ‘good time credit’.
Hajia4Reall’s attorneys asked the court for a three-month sentence after her guilty plea to the romance scam schemes, citing her status as a single mother and the need of her presence in her child’s life.
The US Attorney’s Office, however, mounted a fierce defense, pointing to related cases to support the entire 37-month sentence.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, a shorter term won’t be just or effective in discouraging people.
Related story:Hajia4Reall to be sentenced today, June 28
Hajia4Reall identified the father of her daughter as the person who first exposed her to online fraud. She claimed to have met Allison in 2015 and fallen in love with him while living in the United States of America, unaware of his fraudulent activities, only to learn later that he was involved in fraud, which he had introduced her to and encouraged her to pursue.
Hajia4Reall faced a six-count indictment for her involvement in many romance scams and her money laundering related to those scams.
On November 10, 2022, she was taken into custody in the United Kingdom, and on May 12, 2023, she was extradited.
