CONCORD. N.H. — A man and woman from Massachusetts were sentenced Aug. 29 to federal prison in connection with their roles in a money laundering conspiracy investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England.
Nafis Quaye, 47, and Sunna Sepetu, 38, both of Worcester, were convicted of conspiracy to money launder in March 2024 by a federal jury in Concord following an eight-day trial. Quaye was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release. Quaye was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,287,220. Sepetu was sentenced last month to 12 months and one day of imprisonment and two years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $921,020 in restitution.
“Quaye and Sepetu conspired to move money stolen from a victim of fraud who believed they were sending funds to a romantic partner. Unfortunately, that romantic partner was later revealed to be a fictional character created by scammers overseas. The victim sent money to accounts controlled by Quaye and Sepetu, sending them over $3 million before the conspiracy was stopped,” said HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol. “We are dedicated to holding thieves like these defendants and their collaborators to account and are sending a clear message that facilitating the laundering of ill-gotten gains will result in federal prison time.”
The evidence uncovered by HSI special agents showed that between 2013 and 2019, the defendants received approximately $3.2 million in proceeds from a romance scam victim located in Texas. These proceeds were sent to bank accounts established by the defendants for various shell companies. The defendants then sent those fraud proceeds to the perpetrator of the fraud operating in Africa while keeping a portion of the proceeds for themselves.
The investigation was led by HSI New England’s Manchester Resident Agent in Charge office.
“These sentences reflect the serious emotional and financial harm these defendants caused the victim,” said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young. “The defendants knowingly accepted millions of dollars in wire fraud proceeds from a victim in the United States and sent those proceeds overseas to the fraud perpetrator. Prosecuting people in the United States who facilitate the execution of international frauds committed on the internet is essential to disrupting the networks that pray on vulnerable members of our society.”