A Rhode Island woman was convicted by a federal jury for her involvement in an international money laundering scheme. Jennifer O. Djan, 32, a Ghanaian national living in Pawtucket, was found guilty of money laundering conspiracy and multiple counts of money laundering. United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced the conviction.
Djan had registered a business and opened several business bank accounts to launder fraud proceeds, which were largely sent to individuals in Ghana. She is set to be sentenced on April 22, 2025. The jury reached its decision after deliberating for about four-and-a-half hours following six days of testimony.
“By laundering money for a ring of scammers, this defendant played a critical role in helping fraudsters bilk innocent victims across the United States out of their hard-earned savings to enrich herself and her co-conspirators overseas,” stated U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. “I am pleased that a federal jury had no problem seeing through her attempt at deception, and that today she faces the richly deserved conviction.”
Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, commented: “Jennifer Djan not only conspired with others who blatantly defrauded unsuspecting victims across the country who were looking for companionship and hoping for a better financial future, she tried to conceal her criminal cash flow by laundering millions of dollars through multiple bank accounts here in the U.S. and in Ghana.”
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Djan began registering what she claimed was a "logistics" business from her Pawtucket apartment starting September 2020. She quickly set up numerous business checking accounts linked to this supposed business and used them to process funds received directly from scam victims or other conspirators.
Despite lacking any logistics infrastructure or legitimate operations, substantial amounts flowed into these accounts before being swiftly moved out—sometimes directly transferred to co-conspirators' accounts within the U.S or Ghana. The evidence also indicated Djan frequently traveled between both countries while managing these fraudulent activities.
In November 2022, federal authorities searched Djan’s residence but found no legitimate business records or evidence supporting operational activities.
The prosecution team included Assistant United States Attorneys Julianne Klein and John P. McAdams. Following her conviction, Djan was ordered detained pending sentencing by a federal district judge based on U.S Sentencing Guidelines along with other statutory considerations.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI's Complex Financial Crimes Task Force with support from North Providence Police Department.
