Entertainment pundit, Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo, has observed that all the statements that have been released by Hajia4Reall’s Public Relations (PR) and legal teams since her case was made public have had a lot of disagreements and errors, and displayed dishonesty.
According to him, her team is fond of covering up the facts, adding that their statements usually contradict what the FBI and the New York State court reveal.
For instance, the FBI always maintained that Hajia4Reall was extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom over alleged involvement in a $2 million romance scam targeting older, single Americans.
This statement reoccurred in all the FBI’s press statements since the incident occurred.
However, in a press statement released by Hajia4Reall’s current legal team, ‘The Fast Esquire’, it was stated that Hajia4Reall willingly turned herself in, boarded a flight from the United Kingdom to the United States to face the criminal case in New York.
Analyzing both contents, Arnold spotted the inconsistencies and queried why Hajia4Reall’s team was trying hard to hide the truth.
He also recounted past developments when Hajia4Reall’s PR team vehemently kicked against claims that she had not been arrested when she was.
“I have followed this Hajia4Reall case for a while and one thing I am unhappy about is the kind of statement people who are leading this discussion often make. In 2022 when she was arrested in the UK, her team released a statement informing us that she had not been arrested. Now, when you look at the statement released by her lawyers, The Fast Esquire, there are many things in it that I don’t understand.
“They said in May 2023, Ms. Mona Montrage voluntarily boarded a flight from Heathrow to JFK. This is an anomaly, it’s erroneous. Because, when you take a look at the press statement released by the FBI in 2023, they specifically stated that Hajia was extradited from the UK to the US. Let’s call a spade a spade because those who arrested her said she was deported. If you flow the case, all the statements on her behalf have been erroneous.”
Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo
Touching further on the inconsistencies, Arnold also noted a particular section of the press statement from Hajia4Reall’s legal team a few days ago, wherein they acknowledged that pleading guilty to a charge does not define her.
But Arnold, who is grappling with the motive behind their inconsistencies fumed, “They stated that she took responsibility for her bank account being used to gather illicit funds. Are they trying to say she did not do it? I mean take responsibility for Christ’s sake because it is clear. They also said pleading guilty does not define her. She said she has changed. One moment, you don’t want to take responsibility; one moment, you want to. What exactly are you trying to tell us?”
Expressing Disappointment Over Hajia4Reall’s Guilty Plea
Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo expressed his bewilderment at Hajia4Reall’s guilty plea, voicing his disappointment in the socialite’s financial investments in the showbiz sector.
In 2021, upon making her debut in the Ghanaian music scene, Hajia4Reall released an EP titled ‘Here to Stay,’ featuring industry heavyweights such as Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale, Medikal, Efya, Richie, D-Black, and more.
Each track was complemented by a high-standard quality music video, all extensively promoted across various digital platforms, catapulting her into the spotlight.
“Years ago, I commended Hajia4Reall for investing so much into her craft. Now, I am taking back all that applause. She was the only female artiste who has released top-notch videos. She released an EP with each song featuring an A-list artiste. The likes of Stonebwoy, Richie, Efya, Shatta Wale, Medikal, and so on were on the EP,” he said.
“All the songs on the EP came with a music video. Not just any music video but high-standard ones. She shot quality music videos; videos that some of our big artists had never shot in their life. So, all those monies were made from fraud? It’s sad,” he stated.
Arnold, who refrained from criticizing Hajia4Reall until her admission due to the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ clause, now expressed concern about her act and what he describes as the porous nature of the Ghanaian entertainment industry.
According to Arnold, it is unfortunate that the seemingly needy nature of the showbiz industry allows for various occurrences, including fraudulent investments.
This development coupled with Hajia4Reall’s situation, according to Arnold, now carved a bad image of the Ghanaian entertainment industry.
“All the dubious dealings Hajia4Reall ventured into from 2013 to 2019 and the monies she made from it were invested into showbiz. Not even the banking sector. Showbiz? This shows how cheap our industry has become. We prayed for investors in the entertainment industry but this is not how we want it. The industry is now loose. Hajia has been arrested but there are a lot of artists who are into these things.” he said.
“This is not the kind of investment we are calling for. We want genuine ones. Do you know the kind of spotlight we have put on the Ghanaian showbiz industry? Do you know the image we have created for ourselves now? Especially in the US? Do you know the number of artists they are now investigating? It doesn’t look good. This is not good,” he further stated.
