Virginia Man Hit With 9 Years for Scamming Over $35M From Victims; NPR’s Strict Masking Policy Encourages Coworkers to Tattle on Violators, and other C-Virus related stories

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Virginia man hit with 9 years for scamming over $35M from victims

A Virginia man was slapped with nine years behind bars by a federal judge for running a Ghana-based criminal enterprise to scheme businesses and people out of tens of millions of dollars, authorities said Wednesday.

Fred Asante made more than $35 million over a four-year span by scamming businesses, tricking older victims into online romances and illegally applying for federal COVID loans, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

Asante was arrested in 2021 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in February.

US Attorney Damian Williams called Asante’s sentence Wednesday a “substantial prison term.”

“Fred Asante set up companies that appeared to be involved in legitimate business, but in reality they were simply fronts that he used to receive and launder millions of dollars for a criminal enterprise in Ghana that defrauded American businesses and individuals through online scams,” Williams said. --->READ MORE HERE

AP

NPR’s strict masking policy encourages coworkers to tattle on violators:

National Public Radio is encouraging staffers to squeal on each other if they do not comply with the company’s Draconian mask-wearing policy in the office.

According to a strongly-worded memo sent out Thursday, NPR employees are not only required to wear masks in the office, but if they see someone who isn’t complying with the mandate, they are encouraged to correct their coworker or rat them out to higher-ups.

“If you notice someone who has forgotten their mask, you might tell them, “Hey, you forgot your mask,” the memo said, adding they can also let a superior know so they can “remind” them or they can get human resources involved. Repeat offenses could lead to the maskless offender getting fired.

The strict policy is a departure from the majority of COVID safety policies in offices and public places across the country. In Washington, DC, where NPR is headquartered, mask mandates in gyms, restaurants and stores were dropped in March. Last month, airports and airlines ditched mask mandates, too. --->READ MORE HERE

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