Influential Ghanaian musician and socialite Mona Faiz Montrage, popularly known as Hajia4Real, has been extradited to the US and charged with a $2m ($1.6m) romance scam.
The criminal enterprise she allegedly belonged to targeted lonely American men and women – and in one instance faked married to one victim to further her scheme.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in a statement indicated she had been charged with several counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering.
She could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail for each count if found guilty.
She was also charged with conspiracy to receive and the receipt of stolen money, which carry maximum sentences of five and 10 years respectively.
The 30-year-old was arrested on 10 November last year in the UK then extradited to the US on Friday.
She pleaded not guilty to all charges when she appeared before a judge on Monday.
US authorities have expressed concern about romance scams targeting older people and expressed the need to hold perpetrators to account.
Montrage is alleged to have been part of a criminal enterprise in West Africa that defrauded companies and individuals, including romance scams in the US between 2013 and 2019.