Two Ghanaians jailed for internet fraud, money laundering by US court
The individuals convicted are 34-year-old Wigbert Bandie, originally from a village in Northwestern Ghana, and 30-year-old Adam Khadijah, from Bole in Ghana's Savanna Region.
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A U.S. District Judge in Knoxville, Tennessee, Thomas A. Varlan, has sentenced two Ghanaian nationals to prison for their involvement in internet fraud and money laundering schemes.
The individuals convicted are 34-year-old Wigbert Bandie, originally from a village in Northwestern Ghana, and 30-year-old Adam Khadijah, from Bole in Ghana's Savanna Region.
Wigbert Bandie received a 63-month prison sentence in November 2024 for his role in a series of scams that defrauded victims through wire transfers, checks, postal services, and package deliveries. Adam Khadijah was sentenced to 30 months in prison for her involvement in the schemes.
According to court records, Bandie pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. ยงยง 1349 and 1343. Following his release from prison, he will serve three years under supervised release and is required to pay $2.18 million in restitution to 11 victims.
The charges against the two included conspiracy to commit wire fraud, multiple counts of wire and mail fraud, and money laundering. Another individual, Mubarak Braimah, remains at large and is being sought by authorities.
Investigators revealed that between June 22, 2019, and December 31, 2019, the defendants carried out romance scams to defraud victims by exploiting social media platforms. They posed as individuals seeking relationships and persuaded their victims to send money under false pretenses, such as covering shipping fees for fake gold shipments. Bandie and Khadijah allegedly collected the funds from the victims.
In one particular incident, Wigbert Bandie, using the alias "Kimberly McIntosh," posed as a wealthy heiress with gold bars in Singapore. He deceived Richard Coleman, a Knoxville resident, into paying shipping fees by presenting fraudulent documents, including a fabricated memorandum of understanding promising Coleman a 40% share of the supposed gold. Mubarak Braimah, posing as a representative of a fictitious shipping company, facilitated the scam, defrauding Coleman of $73,550.
Sources indicate that Bandie was arraigned on November 27, 2023, and offered a plea bargain that included a six-year sentence and restitution. However, he declined the offer.