GAITHERSBURG, Md. (ABS NEWS) — Maryland-based Ambazonian activist Eric Tano Tataw has been sentenced for disturbing the peace over unruly house parties at his Gaithersburg home, but the punishment could prove minor compared with the federal legal battles he still faces, including charges tied to alleged support for armed independence fighters in Cameroon.
A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge sentenced Tataw, 39, Thursday to six months in jail and five years of probation in connection with a series of house parties that neighbors said disrupted their community. The jail term was suspended because Tataw remains in federal custody.
Three witnesses testified at the sentencing hearing. One described living near Tataw’s parties as a “living hell.” Neighbor Jung Lee testified that residents saw partygoers relieving themselves on neighborhood properties, fireworks being discharged and armed security guards attempting to charge people for parking on the street. Residents said the events left them fearing for their safety.
Tataw had also been accused of raping a person who attended one of the pool parties, but that charge was subsequently dismissed.
The local case, however, is only one part of Tataw’s mounting legal troubles.
In April 2025, a federal grand jury in Baltimore indicted Tataw on one count of conspiracy to provide material support to armed groups in Cameroon and four counts of interstate communication of threats to harm. He has not been convicted on those charges, and the allegations remain pending in federal court.
Prosecutors Allege Fundraising for Armed Separatists
Federal prosecutors describe Tataw as a prominent member of the Cameroonian diaspora who developed a substantial following on social media.
According to the indictment, beginning no later than April 2018, Tataw and alleged co-conspirators sought money, weapons and personnel for armed groups attempting to establish an independent state called Ambazonia in Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions.
Prosecutors allege Tataw and associates raised more than $110,000 between September 2018 and December 2020 and transferred portions of the money, directly or through intermediaries, to fighters in Cameroon and neighboring Nigeria.
One initiative, prosecutors allege, was called the “National AK Campaign,” which sought funds to provide AK-47 rifles to Ambazonia fighters. Authorities also allege money was solicited for ammunition, explosive materials and equipment used to enforce fighters-imposed lockdowns and conduct attacks.
The indictment goes further, alleging Tataw used hundreds of social-media posts to call for violence against civilians he regarded as cooperating with Cameroon’s government, including municipal officials, traditional leaders and workers of the Cameroon Development Corporation.
Federal authorities also accuse Tataw of promoting a practice he called “Garriing,” terminology prosecutors say referred to mutilating people by severing fingers or limbs, or, in some circumstances, killing victims. Tataw allegedly referred to himself as the “Garri Master.” These remain government allegations that prosecutors would have to prove in court.
If convicted, Tataw faces up to 15 years imprisonment on the material-support conspiracy charge and up to five years on each threatening-communications count.
Separate Bank Fraud Conviction
Unlike the Ambazonia-related allegations, Tataw has already admitted guilt in another federal case.
In April, on the first day of his scheduled trial, Tataw pleaded guilty to bank fraud involving COVID-19 relief money obtained through his company, National Telegraph LLC.
According to the Justice Department, Tataw admitted submitting false information about employees, payroll and company finances in applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans. He fraudulently obtained $163,302 and attempted to obtain another $150,000 through an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, for an intended fraud totaling approximately $313,302. Prosecutors said much of the money he received was used for personal expenses.
Tataw also admitted attempting to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation. Prosecutors said he gave a subpoenaed witness false earnings statements and instructed her to present them to the grand jury as evidence that she had worked for National Telegraph. He also provided her a blank W-2 and asked her to have tax filings amended to falsely show wages from the company.
Bank fraud carries a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years, although the sentence ultimately imposed will be determined by a federal judge using sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
For Tataw, Thursday’s Maryland sentence therefore resolves only the comparatively smaller local case. His more consequential reckoning will come in federal court, where a bank-fraud sentence and the unresolved Ambazonia-related prosecution still await him.
