NH, Mass. Residents Indicted On Money Laundering Elderly Fraud Charges

CONCORD, NH — Four people from two states were indicted in May, accused of targeting two people online and stealing money from the victims.

A federal grand jury has indicted Sunna Sepetu, 35, of Nashua, Nafis Quaye, 45, of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Stella Osabutey, 36, of Worcester, MA, and Samuel Ansah, 31, whose whereabouts is currently unknown, on conspiracy to commit money laundering charges. Ansah was also charged with five counts of wire fraud.

Quaye and Sepetu were arraigned Wednesday and released on personal recognizance while Osabutey waived arraignment.

The indictment was unsealed last week and accused Ansah and others unknown of assuming false identities to target two elderly victims by building relationships with them online. During the course of the scam, “large sums” of money were transferred from the victims to companies controlled by Osabute, Quaye, and Sepetu, Jane Young, the U.S. Attorney said. Osabute, Quaye, and Sepetu, she said, then “conducted additional financial transactions designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the proceeds.”

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigation and was part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative — "which supports and coordinates the department’s enforcement and programmatic efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect, and financial fraud, and scams that target our nation’s older adults," she noted.

A National Elder Fraud Hotline, 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311), is available for anyone who believes they have been a victim of elder fraud or crime. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. English, Spanish, and other languages are available.

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