US jails top Ghanaian fraudster
A United States court has sentenced Fred Asante, a Ghanaian man, for fraud.
The Southern District of New York sentenced Asante to 9 years imprisonment for his role as the top U.S.-based money launderer for a criminal enterprise based in Ghana.
In addition, he was sentenced to three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $647,488 and restitution in the amount of $2,292,486.71.
According to report, the criminal network stole tens of millions of dollars from victims across the United States.
Asante was arrested on February 17, 2021, in Virginia and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering on February 16, 2022, before District Judge Jed S. Rakoff.
He was sentenced on Wednesday, 18 May 2022.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Fred Asante set up companies that appeared to be involved in legitimate business, but in reality, they were simply fronts that he used to receive and launder millions of dollars for a criminal enterprise in Ghana that defrauded American businesses and individuals through online scams”.
“Asante will now serve a substantial term in prison for his money-laundering operation. We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who participate in the money side of the fraud business.”
The frauds perpetrated by the Enterprise have consisted of, among other frauds, business email compromises, romance scams, and fraud schemes related to the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.
In total, Asante opened and maintained 19 bank accounts at more than 10 different banks as part of his money-laundering operation.
These bank accounts had deposits that totalled approximately $36.4 million during the 4.5-year period from September 2016 through January 2021, which included fraud proceeds from more than 80 identified victims.
