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Fred Asante, of Virginia, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Feb. 16, to conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to Damian Williams, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.
He was arrested on Feb. 17, 2021, Williams reported.
“Fred Asante admitted today to laundering money from victims of various fraud schemes, including cruel scams targeting elderly online daters searching for companionship," Williams said. "Compounding the disappointment of learning their potential soulmate was indeed nonexistent, Asante’s victims later found they were also targets of a Ghana-based criminal enterprise netting over $35 million in illegal proceeds. We implore the millions of Americans looking for someone special online to use extra caution, and be especially beware if solicited for money or other personal information.
From about 2013 through about 2020, Asante was involved in a criminal enterprise based in Ghana that committed fraud against residents and businesses in the US, including New York, Williams reported.
The enterprise would trick businesses into wiring funds into its account, and conduct romance scams via email, text or online dating sites to trick victims into sending them money under false pretenses, the US Attorney's Office said.
The enterprise would also submit fraudulent loan applications to the US Small Business Administration through a program meant to provide relief to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the announcement.
Asante and other members of the organization would receive proceeds from victims in business bank accounts they controlled in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, Williams said.
Asante would then withdraw, transport, and launder the proceeds to other members of the organization, according to the report.
"The defendant’s transactions had the appearance of legitimate business transactions when, in fact, the products had been purchased using the proceeds of fraud schemes," the report said. "This trade-based money laundering scheme was designed to obscure the origin of the fraud proceeds as well as the identity of the ultimate beneficiaries of these schemes."
Between about 2016 and 2020, Asante controlled more than 12 business bank accounts with deposits totaling more than $35 million, Williams reported.
He is set to be sentenced on May 18.
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