- Five men in the UK have been convicted over a romance scam and money laundering operation
- Three Ghanaians were among the convicts and were jailed between four and seven years in prison
- UK authorities and prosecutors said the convicts showed complete disregard for the people they defrauded
Three men of Ghanaian descent are among five people jailed for engaging in romance fraud.
They were also convicted of stealing more than £2 million in a money laundering operation.
Source: UGC
BBC reported that the suspects are Fawaz Ali, 27, Ebenezer Tackie, 42 and Michael Quartey, 28, Kwabena Edusei, 37 and George Melseaux, 40.
They had 40 confirmed victims between 2017 and 2024, though authorities suspect about 100 victims. While they were mostly in the UK, some were also identified in the US and Australia.
Ali, Tackie, and Quartey were found guilty of money laundering offences and sentenced to four years and 10 months, four years and six months, and five years and six months.
Edusei was sentenced to seven years and 10 months, while Melseaux was sentenced to three years and nine months.
Victims were asked for money to cover fake expenses, including fines in remote locations or urgent travel costs.
They transferred money to the bank accounts of the men or even sent cash in the post, according to UK authorities.
“The criminals here showed complete disregard for their victims who were met on an online dating website for the sole purpose of exploiting and scamming them out of money, said Jane Mitchell, a specialist prosecutor.
Source: YEN.com.gh
Source: Yen.com.gh
