Ghanaian jailed 63 months in US over $2m romance scam

A Ghanaian man, Wigbert Bandie, has been sentenced to 63 months in federal prison in Tennessee in the United States of America for his role in a $2 million international wire fraud scheme.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Bandie will also be on supervised release for three years after his imprisonment.

A release on the department’s website said Bandie and his accomplices used false identities on social media, dating websites, and other platforms to lure particularly elderly victims into romantic relationships.

He then convinced the victims to send them money for emergency financial assistance or nonexistent investment opportunities.

“There were victims throughout the United States who each lost amounts ranging from several thousand dollars to several hundred thousand dollars. For example, one victim who resided in the Eastern District of Tennessee lost over $280,000 to this scheme over the course of several months,” the statement said.

The operation involved co-conspirators who acted as “money mules”, facilitating the movement of funds from the United States to overseas accounts via wire transfers or mail.

However, the scheme was brought to an end following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which led to the perpetrators’ arrest.

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Bandie pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1349 and 1343.

Meanwhile, Bandie was also ordered to repay $2.18 million in restitution to the 11 victims in this case.

Wigbert Bandie is the third Ghanaian jailed in the US for a romance scam in 2024.

In May, a 36-year-old Ghanaian living in the United States, Emmanuel Quamey, was sentenced to four years imprisonment for receiving and laundering money obtained through romance scams.

According to court documents, Quamey and a network of co-conspirators received over US$3.8 million in fraud proceeds between September 2019 and March 2023.

In June, a U.S. court jailed Ghanaian socialite Mona Faiz Montrage, popularly known as Hajia4Real, for one year and a day over her involvement in a similar scam.

Hajia4Real was arrested over her involvement in a $2 million romance scam.

She allegedly communicated with one of her victims multiple times and received wire transfers totalling $89,000, purportedly to fund her father’s farm.

Her arrest in the United Kingdom led to her extradition to the United States to face these charges.