{"id":88817,"date":"2025-08-08T20:31:24","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T20:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=88817"},"modified":"2025-08-08T20:31:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T20:31:24","slug":"ghanaian-nationals-extradited-for-alleged-roles-in-stealing-more-than-100m-through-romance-scams-other-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=88817","title":{"rendered":"Ghanaian nationals extradited for alleged roles in stealing more than $100m through romance scams, other fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 49 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div><div>\n<p>United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (\u201cFBI\u201d), Christopher G. Raia,\u00a0announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging four Ghanaian nationals, Isaac Oduro Boateng aka \u201cKofi Boat,\u201d Inusah Ahmed aka \u201cPascal,\u201d Derrick Van Yeboah aka \u201cVan,\u201d and Patrick Kwame Asare aka \u201cBorgar,\u201d for their roles in an international criminal organization that stole more than $100 million from victims via romance scams and business email compromises.<\/p>\n<p>They further announced Ghana\u2019s extradition of Boateng, Ahmed, and Van Yeboah, who arrived in the U.S. on August 7, 2025, and will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger.\u00a0 ASARE remains at large.\u00a0 The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs alleged, Isaac Oduro Boateng, Inusah Ahmed, Derrick van Yeboah, and Patrick Kwame Asare led and participated in an international fraud ring that engaged in a massive conspiracy to defraud vulnerable people and steal from businesses,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Read also: Alleged fraudster extradited to face charges in US over romance scam, others<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cOffshore scammers should know that we, the FBI, and our law enforcement partners will work around the world to combat online fraud and bring perpetrators to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe defendants have been brought to the United States to be held accountable for their alleged roles in scamming companies and vulnerable Americans out of over $100 million,\u201d said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cDeceiving businesses using email compromise campaigns and tricking innocent elderly victims through fraudulent companionship in order to exploit their trust and finances is not merely appalling but illegal.\u00a0 The FBI will continue to ensure anyone who preys on companies and vulnerable Americans online is made to face the criminal justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>As alleged in the Indictment:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Boateng, Ahmed, Van Yeboah, and Asare were high-ranking members of a criminal organization based in Ghana that committed romance scams and business email compromises against individuals and businesses located across the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the conspiracy\u2019s victims were vulnerable older men and women who were tricked into believing that they were in online romantic relationships with people who were, in fact, fake identities assumed by members of the conspiracy.<\/p>\n<p>Once members of the conspiracy had gained the trust of their victims, they deceived those victims into sending their money to the enterprise or into helping them launder funds from other victims.<\/p>\n<p>The conspirators also committed business email compromises to trick and deceive businesses into wiring funds to the enterprise.\u00a0In total, the conspiracy stole and laundered more than $100 million from dozens of victims.<\/p>\n<p>After stealing the money, the fraud proceeds were then laundered to West Africa, where they were largely funneled to individuals called \u201cchairmen,\u201d who directed the activities of other members of the conspiracy.\u00a0 Boateng and Ahmed were considered chairmen of the organization.<\/p>\n<p>Boateng, 36; Ahmed, 40; Van Yeboah, 40; and Asare, 39, each of Ghana, are charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to receive stolen money, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of receipt of stolen money, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the FBI.\u00a0He also thanked Ghana and the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Office of International Affairs for their assistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department\u2019s Office of International Affairs worked with the International Cooperation Unit of the Office of the Attorney-General of Ghana to secure the extraditions to the United States.\u00a0 Ghana\u2019s Economic and Organized Crime Office, the Ghana Police Service \u2013 INTERPOL, Ghana\u2019s Cyber Security Authority, and Ghana\u2019s National Intelligence Bureau all provided significant assistance to ensure the success of these extraditions.<\/p>\n<p>The case is being prosecuted by the Office\u2019s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.\u00a0 Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mead and Mitzi Steiner are in charge of the prosecution.<\/p>\n<p>The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n        <div class=\"booster-block booster-reactions-block\">\n            <div class=\"twp-reactions-icons\">\n                \n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-1\" post-id=\"88817\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/happy.svg\" alt=\"Happy\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div 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src=\"https:\/\/www.myjoyonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/image-50-617x424-1-150x150.png\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Ghanaian nationals extradited for alleged roles in stealing more than $100m through romance scams, other fraud\" title=\"Ghanaian nationals extradited for alleged roles in stealing more than $100m through romance scams, other fraud\">United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (\u201cFBI\u201d), Christopher G. Raia,\u00a0announced today the unsealing of an indictment charging four Ghanaian nationals, Isaac Oduro Boateng aka \u201cKofi Boat,\u201d Inusah Ahmed aka \u201cPascal,\u201d Derrick Van Yeboah aka \u201cVan,\u201d and Patrick Kwame Asare aka \u201cBorgar,\u201d for their roles in an international criminal organization that stole more than $100 million from victims via romance scams and business email compromises.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6170,1951,1883,10,9,6171],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ghanaian-nationals","category-hp-news-1","category-national","category-politics","category-popular","category-romance-scams"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=88817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88817\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=88817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=88817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=88817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}