Leader of conspiracy to steal $4M from Lexington sentenced to seven years in prison

A man labeled as the “leader” of a criminal conspiracy that took nearly $4 million from the city of Lexington was sentenced to seven years in prison Wednesday afternoon.

Nana Kwabena Amuah, 30, a native of Ghana, pleaded guilty to a federal charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering in June. He originally faced an additional charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud but the charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement. He was indicted in January, according to court documents.

In addition to the prison time, he is ordered to pay more than $4.7 million in restitution.

He is one of five co-conspirators alleged to have targeted nearly 70 business or municipal entities across the country who were owed payments by other parties, according to court documents.

The group would impersonate vendors in emails sent to those entities and request wire payments to a new bank account, one opened in the name of Gretson Company LLC.

Participants attempted to withdraw the money in a variety of payment methods, to quickly move the money elsewhere.

In August 2022, co-conspirators emailed the city of Lexington pretending to be from the Community Action Council, convincing a city official to wire money owed to the non-profit organization into a bank account at Truist Bank that belonged to the conspirators, according to court documents.

Truist Bank and Lexington were able to recover all the city’s money that was transmitted, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

“This crime deprived businesses of their operating funds and caused significant harm to the well being of the people who own and run those companies,” prosecutor Kathryn Dieruf wrote in her sentencing memo.

Dieruf said the scheme was more of a “business” and the theft of the city of Lexington was a significant advancement in the enterprise.

“They targeted the city of Lexington, and that $4 million was for housing assistance which hurt the taxpayer and the people needing housing,” Dieruf said in court testimony.

Victims said in written statements the effects of the scheme were “devastating” and “enormous” to their businesses — one company had to close their doors altogether, according to court documents.

One victim, identified as “M.R.” in court documents, lost $55,000 in the scheme after just barely surviving the pandemic.

“After we were forced to close our business due to this crime, we sold off what inventory we could,” M.R. said in a statement. “The owners were forced to pay the remainder of the line of credit from their own personal accounts. We had vendors we could not pay and I was out of full-time employment. . . .The wire transfer fraud has had a great physical, emotional and financial impact on my personal and professional life.”

In a brief sentencing memo from Amuah’s attorney, William Bulter, he noted the city of Lexington never lost funding because the money was never withdrawn. Butler also noted Amuah accepted responsibility for his actions, and had shown remorse.

Amuah spoke in court Wednesday and said his actions were thoughtless, selfish, and not how he was raised. He spoke about his mother — who was present in the courtroom — and said he was ashamed he let her down and hurt his family.

“I ask for a second chance and I promise you will never see me in this courtroom again,” Amuah said.

Judge Karen Caldwell said while there was a young man sitting before her with little to no criminal history, the crimes he helped commit were “incredibly serious.” She said the internet allows people to participate in fraud without seeing the effect it has on victims.

Other co-conspirators

Two additional defendants in the fraud scheme have also been prosecuted in federal court in Kentucky.

Texas native Shimea Maret McDonald, 24, pleaded guilty in June for conspiracy to commit money laundering and a charge of aggravated theft.

Authorities found more than 40 fake identity cards when they searched McDonald’s house, according to her plea agreement.

She originally faced one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, one count of providing fraudulent statements to a federally insured financial institution, and three counts of identity theft, according to court documents. Some charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.

When money from a victim was deposited into one of the shell companies, Amuah had McDonald wire or deliver money to him, and then he would get it to others involved in the conspiracy after taking his cut, the document said.

McDonald faces a maximum of up to 20 years in prison.

Jean Mejia-Garcia worked alongside Amuah and McDonald since 2021, according to court documents. He was recently indicted in September for conspiracy to commit money laundering and aggravated identity theft.

Dieruf said she hopes to bring other indictments foward for additional individuals involved in the crimes.