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Gaithersburg Man Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering
A Gaithersburg man has pleaded guilty to money laundering in connection to a romance scheme that swindled elderly victims out of millions of dollars.
David Annor, 28, admitted today to conspiring to commit money laundering in connection with a romance scheme that targeted elderly and isolated victims. Annor and his co-conspirators induced the victims to send money to bank accounts and physical addresses linked to Annor and the co-conspirators.
According to court documents, between May 2017 and October 2020, Annor participated in a romance scheme in which his brother, Lesley Annor, and a co-conspirator targeted elderly victims online, typically through social media, dating websites, e-mail, and online applications.
Once the conspiracy members convinced the victims to trust them, they would instruct the victims to send money to bank accounts and physical addresses linked to Annor and the co-conspirators. The conspirators often received 10 percent of the victim’s money and sent the remainder to co-conspirators located in Ghana.
For example, in September 2018, Victim 2, a woman born in 1957, met an individual claiming to be Brett Fernley on a social media platform. Fernley told Victim 2 that he was an underwater welder from Canada, who resided in Florida and worked near Ireland. After engaging in what Victim 2 thought to be romantic conversations, and gaining Victim 2’s trust, Fernley began asking Victim 2 for money.
In December 2018, Fernley instructed Victim 2 on how to send money to a bank account in the name of Ravid Enterprise, a business bank account opened and controlled by Annor. Bank records show that Victim 2 wired over $44,800 to the Ravid Enterprise bank account.
Over the course of the scheme, Annor and his co-conspirators laundered over $6,200,000 through approximately 34 bank accounts at 11 different financial institutions. At least $3,909,396 in victim payments were made into personal and business bank accounts controlled by Annor.
Annor has been in custody since his arrest on November 16, 2020, and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for money laundering.
The case was investigated by the FBI, USPIS, and the USSS, and was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Victims who have been financially exploited are encouraged to file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or the FTC.
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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