A Maryland woman has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for laundering more than $1.6 million obtained through a nationwide romance scam.
Nana Takyiwa Adonu, 43, of Odenton, Maryland, was sentenced July 22nd to 70 months in prison. Adonu, who is a Ghanaian national, was also ordered to pay more than $1.65 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.
Court documents show Adonu operated a company called Han-Dak LLC, which was used to receive money from victims. That included more than $55,000 from a victim living in the Southern District of Iowa.
Authorities have not identified where that Iowa victim lived. Because southeast Iowa is part of the Southern District, it is possible that victim—or others targeted by the scheme—could be from the KILJ listening area.
The victims believed they were sending money at the request of romantic partners they had met online. Some drained retirement accounts, sold homes and vehicles, returned to work after retiring or borrowed substantial amounts from relatives and friends.
When questioned by the FBI, Adonu claimed the company was a legitimate clothing-production business. Investigators said she later provided false invoices, customer lists and other documents in response to a federal grand jury subpoena.
Her co-defendant, Naabanyin Aniagyei-Cobbold, was sentenced in March to nine years in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution.
Anyone in our listening area who believes they may have sent money connected to this case—or who may have been targeted by a similar online romance scam—is encouraged to report it. Victims should contact their financial institution and local law enforcement and call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Reports may also be made to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office at 1-888-777-4590.