Sunna Sepetu: Tanzanian woman convicted in a US money laundering case

Sunna Sepetu and her co-accused, Nafise Quaye have been convicted in a federal court in the United States (US) on March 28, 2024. 

The defendants from Worcester, Massachusetts were convicted of one count of conspiracy to launder money derived from wire fraud.

In a statement by the US Attorney's office, District of New Hampshire, US Attorney Jane E. Young stated that the defendants knowingly accepted millions of dollars in wire fraud proceeds from a victim in the US and sent the proceeds oversees to the fraud perpetrator.

“Between 2013 and 2019, the defendants received approximately $3.2 million from a fraud victim located in Texas. these proceeds were sent to bank accounts established by the defendants for various shell companies. The defendants then sent those fraud proceeds to the perpetrator of the fraud operating in Africa, while keeping a portion of the proceeds for themselves."

The judge presiding over the case is set to announce the sentencing of the defendants on July 8, 2024.

Sunna Sepetu is the sister to 2006 Miss Tanzania, Wema Sepetu.