Ventura County, Calif., District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced Abdoul Aziz Bah, also known as Richard Anderson of Stockbridge, Ga., pleaded guilty on Aug. 27, to one felony count of money laundering. He also tendered $5,000 in cash as partial restitution owed to the victims in this case.
In April 2023, while using the false name Richard Anderson, Bah created multiple false limited liability corporations for the sole purpose of receiving and laundering large amounts of cash stolen from real estate transactions. On March 1, 2023, a Newbury Park family was defrauded on their attempted purchase of a local home by inadvertently following fraudulent wire instructions directing them to wire over $200,000 to an account that was actually under the control of Bah, not the victims’ escrow company. Shortly after receiving the victims’ money, Bah separated the stolen proceeds into smaller amounts, transferring the funds to bank accounts allegedly under the control of codefendant Jasmine Shante Faniel, AKA Teresa Dennis of Conyers, Ga. Faniel, like Bah, allegedly used false LLCs to open multiple accounts at multiple banks in Georgia for the sole purpose of receiving and laundering money stolen from real estate transactions.
Faniel was arrested in Georgia on Aug. 1 and extradited back to Ventura County by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit on Aug. 22. Faniel is currently in custody at the Ventura County Jail with bail set at $1 million. Her next court date is an early disposition conference scheduled for Sept. 26.
Bah’s conviction is the result of an extensive investigation by the District Attorney’s Office Real Estate Fraud Unit, with valuable assistance from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit who completed the extradition of both defendants back to Ventura County. This case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Dominic Kardum.