| In SDNY
Ghana
Fraudster Got
4 Years In
Jail While
Crying Then
Fled Now
Extradited
Back
By Matthew
Russell Lee
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
August 6 – When Ghanaian
fraudster Tourey Rufai
appeared for sentencing on
April 12, 2019 before
U.S. District
Court for the
Southern
District of
New York Judge
Denise Cote,
he was wearing
an overcoat
and holding a
napkin into
which, when
called on, he
cried. His
lawyer argued
that he was
aware of but
did not
participate in
the romantic
fraud part of
the conspiracy
but Judge Cote
was not
convinced,
citing to
Exhibit C.
The
argument
shifted to
whether Rufai
will be at
risk when he
is deported
back to Ghana,
given that he
is viewed as
having helped
a gay friend.
Judge Cote
said that will
be up to an
immigration
court to
decide. She
sentenced him
on the upper
end of the 41
to 51 months
guidelines, at
48 months. He
was to turn
himself in on
May 24, 2019
at 2 pm, to
the SDNY
Marshals if
not otherwise
designated by
then.
Then
he fled.
Now
on August 6,
2021, this: "
TOUREY AHMED
RUFAI, a/k/a
“Joe
Thompson,”
a/k/a “Joe
Terry,” a/k/a
“Rufai A
Tourey,” a/k/a
“Ahmed Rufai
Tourey,” who
was previously
sentenced to
four years in
prison and
fled to the
Republic of
Ghana
(“Ghana”)
prior to
surrendering
to serve his
sentence, was
arrested in
Ghana on April
14, 2021, and
extradited to
the United
States earlier
today to serve
his
sentence.
RUFAI’s
sentence of
four years was
imposed by
U.S. District
Judge Denise
L. Cote on
April 12,
2019, in
connection
with RUFAI’s
participation
in a fraud
scheme based
in Ghana
involving the
theft of over
$10 million
through
business email
compromises
and romance
scams that
targeted
elderly
victims from
at least 2014
through 2018."
The
case is US v.
Rufai,
18-cr-201
(Cote)
***
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