Dual citizen gets max for laundering romance scam proceeds
Jul 28, 2023 · Sourced to the U.S. Department of Justice
A 39-year-old man who holds citizenship in the United States and Ghana has been sent to prison for operating an illegal money transmitting business
Defendants
- Kenneth Anim — age 39 · Houston, Texas · sentenced
Charges
Operating an Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business
Max: 60 months in federal prisonKenneth Anim· pleaded guilty
Financial actions
- restitution: $2.2 million — Restitution ordered for laundering romance scam proceeds
From the announcement
“Anim profited off the elderly and vulnerable. He knew victims were being defrauded but helped launder the money anyway by operating as an illegal money transmitter,”
“The sentence shows that we will not let money launderers for romance scammers try to hide behind the excuse that they didn’t know details about where the money was coming from.”
“Kenneth Anim was a mule who, for years, knew that the millions of dollars he was depositing in numerous banks were stolen from victims through false promises,”
“Yet his greed was stronger than his principles, and he chose to continue to receive money from romance scam victims, most of them senior citizens. As long as con artists like Anim exist and victims continue to fall for their lies, the FBI will continue to call attention to these scams and go after the people behind them.”
Investigating agencies
Case details
- Prosecuting office
- Southern District of Texas
- Judge
- Ewing Werlein, U.S. District Judge
Primary source
Every fact above is drawn from the Department of Justice's own announcement — a public-domain government record.
Read the original DOJ release →This is a research and reference page compiled from public DOJ announcements, not legal advice. Details reflect the government's statements as of its release date and may not capture later developments such as appeals, dismissals, or overturned convictions. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.