Ghanaian National Sentenced to Prison for Role in Money Laundering Scheme

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A Ghanaian national pleaded guilty in federal court to violating federal money laundering laws and has been sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Senior United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on David Kakra Mensah, 31, of Accra, Ghana.

According to information presented to the Court, Mensah engaged in a money laundering conspiracy from in and around April 2022 until in and around June 2022. The court was advised that a Washington, D.C.-based university was the victim of a business email compromise that resulted in the fraudulent transfer of more than $603,000 from a bank account located in the Western District of Pennsylvania into a separate bank account owned by Mensah's co-defendant, Charles Wilson Stout, who also has pleaded guilty and is pending sentencing.

To obfuscate the source of the fraudulent funds, Mensah and his co-defendant created a shell company and transferred portions of the funds into cryptocurrency that was ultimately deposited into a cryptocurrency account that Mensah owned. In addition to receiving a portion of the funds associated with the business email compromise, Mensah also was involved in a romance fraud scheme in which he obtained and moved money through individual victims living in Pennsylvania, Oregon, and elsewhere.

Assistant United States Attorneys Mark V. Gurzo and Kelly M. Locher prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Olshan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Mensah.