Ghanaian sentenced in US over role in romance fraud scheme
According to a statement from the US Justice Department in Southern-West Virginia, Banabas was also ordered to pay $156,073 in restitution.
A 25-year-old Ghanaian, Banabas Ganidekam, was yesterday sentenced by a US judge, to three years of federal probation, including eight months on home detention with electronic monitoring for his role in a romance fraud scheme.
According to a statement from the US Justice Department in Southern-West Virginia, Banabas was also ordered to pay $156,073 in restitution.
“According to court documents and statements made in court, Ganidekam admitted to his role in a romance fraud scheme. From June 2019 until at least May 14, 2020, Ganidekam received approximately $189,404 from at least 14 victims who were convinced to send the money for a variety of false and fraudulent reasons. The victims include a woman who in January and February 2020 sent thousands of dollars to a false persona she believed was her boyfriend,” the statement noted.
He is also said to have admitted to receiving proceeds of fraud through an Ohio bank account, wire transfers, and personal and cashier’s checks.
“Ganidekam further admitted to transferring a portion of these fraudulent proceeds to his bank account in Huntington, and to keeping some of the victims’ money for himself while forwarding some to others in the United States and abroad,” US authorities said.
