A Newark federal jury convicted Manaseh Mintah of laundering at least $1.2 million from internet romance scams.

A federal jury conviction is a finding of guilt on the counts tried. It is not a prison term until the court imposes sentence. The Justice Department said Mintah was convicted Sept. 28, 2026, in Newark after a two-week trial for moving at least about $1.2 million in romance-scam proceeds through personal accounts and a shell entity, Dazionking LLC. Sentencing is scheduled for March 16, 2027. Exposure ceilings on the statutes are not the sentence.

U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer's Oct. 2, 2026, announcement says Manaseh Mintah, 43, of Dracut, Massachusetts, was convicted Sept. 28, 2026, of one count of money-laundering conspiracy, three counts of money laundering, and one count of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business after a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark. Sentencing is set for March 16, 2027.

According to court documents and trial evidence summarized by the office, Mintah received romance-scam victim funds in accounts in his own name and under Dazionking LLC, then moved the money to coconspirators by wires, cash withdrawals, and other means, knowing the purpose was to disguise criminal proceeds. The government says he received and transferred at least about $1.2 million. Those are the facts the jury accepted as described by prosecutors.

The office said the money-laundering conspiracy count and one money-laundering count each carry a statutory maximum of 20 years, two money-laundering counts carry a 10-year maximum, and the unlicensed money-transmitting count carries a five-year maximum, with potential fines up to $500,000 on the laundering counts and $250,000 on the unlicensed-business count. Statutory maxima are exposure. They are not the March 16, 2027, sentence. FBI Newark, FBI Cleveland, IRS-CI Newark, and HSI assisted, the release said. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.