A Maryland woman was sentenced on Mar. 10 to 30 months in federal prison for her role in a money laundering scheme involving funds stolen from various fraud operations, according to U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement to address financial crimes that target victims through romance scams, elder-fraud schemes, and business-email compromises. These types of crimes often result in significant financial losses and can be difficult to investigate due to the use of false identities and shell companies.
Tanoa Tanoh, 35, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, pleaded guilty in December 2025 to conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to court documents, Tanoh conspired with others between January 2019 and May 2021 to conceal the origins of at least $3.8 million obtained from at least 27 victims across multiple states. She created numerous bank accounts using false aliases and registered non-existent businesses with the State of Maryland solely for the purpose of facilitating these transactions.
Tanoh used fake identification documents bearing her photograph to open shell companies such as “Hoch Investments LLC” under the alias Linda Hochman and “Easy Supplies LLC” under the alias Anita Rawlings. After establishing these entities, co-conspirators directed victims’ funds into the fraudulent accounts. The laundered money was then transferred among various accounts or sent overseas, making it harder for authorities and victims to trace or recover the stolen assets.
Co-conspirators Olumide Obidare and Steven Oseghale, both Nigerian nationals, were previously sentenced in Minnesota for related wire fraud offenses and are currently serving prison terms of 108 months and 56 months respectively; each received an additional two years for aggravated identity theft. Another alleged co-conspirator, Emmanuel Okereke, is awaiting trial in Ohio.
Hayes commended both FBI Baltimore and Minneapolis Field Offices for their investigative work on this case. “U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI Baltimore and FBI Minneapolis Field Offices for their work in the investigation.” She also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Darren S. Gardner and Elizabeth Wright who prosecuted the case.
