Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that FREEMAN CELVIN, a/k/a “Celvin Freeman,” was sentenced today to 78 months for his participation in a fraud and money laundering conspiracy based in the Republic of Ghana (“Ghana”) involving the theft of millions of dollars. On March 30, 2022, CELVIN was convicted after a jury trial of all seven counts against him before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who imposed today’s sentence. CELVIN was previously arrested on February 17, 2021, and has been detained since his arrest.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Freeman Celvin used an auto business in New Jersey as a front to launder millions of dollars in fraud proceeds to scam artists in Ghana. The online scams perpetrated by Celvin’s partners in Ghana were lucrative and callous, as they targeted vulnerable, elderly men and women and tricked them into transferring their life savings to the defendant, who then took his laundering fee and sent the money abroad. Today’s sentence demonstrates that money launderers who assist online scammers abroad will be held accountable and brought to justice for their crimes.”
As reflected in the Indictment, public filings, and the evidence presented at trial:
From in or about 2014 through in or about February 2021, a criminal enterprise based in Ghana (the “Enterprise”) committed a series of business email compromises and romance scams against…
