US Repackages Old Cases In "Worst Of The Worst" Campaign

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has publicly identified eight Ghanaian nationals in its latest batch of profiles on the "Worst of the Worst" criminal enforcement database — a platform critics say blurs the line between active enforcement and political messaging built on previously concluded cases. The database, hosted at WOW.DHS.gov, was launched on December 8, 2025, and has since grown to more than 35,000 searchable profiles following a recent addition of 5,000 new entries. The eight Ghanaians featured in the latest visual batch are: Edmund Agbo (Conroe, Texas — Assault, Human Slavery/Trafficking); Eric Ahiekpor (Allenwood, Pennsylvania — Fraud By Wire, Fraud, Insufficient Funds Check, Money Laundering); Jeanette Agbemble (Houston, Texas — Dangerous Drugs, Drug Possession); Abdul Mohammed (Laredo, Texas — Identity Theft, Counterfeiting); Albert Nkrumah (Atlanta, Georgia — Forgery); Mona Montrage (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Fraud); David Mensah (Loretto, Pennsylvania — Money Laundering); and Kofi Owusu (Bennettsville, South Carolina — Drug Trafficking). The publication comes amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. According to DHS data, 478 Ghanaians were arrested by ICE in 2025, and as of October 2025, approximately 2,470 Ghanaian nationals were being held in U.S. detention facilities pending deportation — one of the highest figures recorded for the country. These eight represent only a portion of a larger picture. In total, 32 Ghanaian nationals have been named across the full DHS database, with offences ranging from violent crime to financial fraud, including one individual, Kwabena Adjei, facing a homicide charge. The Mona Montrage Case The most publicly recognised name in the batch is socialite and musician Mona Faiz Montrage, widely known as Hajia4Reall. Public court records confirm that Montrage was sentenced on June 28, 2024 and served a term of one year and one day at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, with her release confirmed on May 22, 2025. Despite her prison release, her legal obligations were not fully extinguished — she was additionally sentenced to three years of supervised release, with her activities closely monitored. Her appearance on the DHS list therefore reflects active deportation processing, not a fully closed case. Eric Ahiekpor — A Documented Conviction Court records from the U.S. Department of Justice confirm that Eric Ahiekpor pleaded guilty to conspiring to launder the proceeds of online romance scams, with bank accounts under his control receiving more than $2.4 million in criminally derived funds. He also admitted to fraudulently misapplying CARES Act loan funds to purchase boats while out on release from his initial charges. He was subsequently sentenced as part of a wider case involving more than $11.8 million in total laundered romance fraud proceeds. Database Accuracy Under Scrutiny Independent oversight has raised serious concerns about the reliability of the database as a whole. DHS acknowledged that entries for hundreds of people were described incorrectly and blamed the problem on a "glitch" it said was fixed by February 18, 2026. Nearly 40% of arrestees had no criminal record and were accused only of civil immigration violations. Of the roughly 281,000 people arrested by ICE between January 20 and December 9, 2025, fewer than 10,000 were classified as "worst of the worst" — and of those classified, a majority (56 percent) had not been charged or convicted of a violent crime, with nearly a quarter facing nothing beyond minor vice, immigration, or traffic charges. Report verified against: U.S. Department of Justice records, U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons data, Cato Institute immigration analysis, and the official DHS enforcement database.