Ghanaian jailed nine years for $36.4m scam in the US

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has sentenced Fred Asante, a Ghanaian living in the United States, to nine years in prison for money laundering involving a criminal operation in Ghana.

The scam’s leader, Fred Asante, is claimed to have made more than $36.4 million over four years.

Mr Asante and his Ghanaian partners defrauded businesses, duped older victims into online romances, and applied for US federal Covid-19 loans fraudulently.

He was detained in Virginia on February 17, 2021, and pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy on February 16, 2022, before District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who handed down the sentence on Wednesday, May 18.

Asante, 37, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release in addition to his prison sentence.

He was also sentenced to pay a forfeiture of $647,488 and restitution of $2,292,486.71 in addition to the fine.

“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,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.

As part of his money-laundering scheme, he is believed to have opened and maintained 19 bank accounts at more than ten different banks.

During the 4.5-year period from September 2016 to January 2021, these bank accounts received deposits totaling $36.4 million, which contained fraud proceeds from more than 80 victims.

Asante was a member of a criminal enterprise based in Ghana that conducted a series of frauds against persons and businesses across the United States, including in the Southern District of New York, according to the indictment, public court records, and statements made in court.