Three Ghanaians Extradited to U.S. in $100 Million Fraud Scheme

Three Ghanaian nationals have been extradited to the United States to face charges for their alleged roles in an international criminal organization that stole over $100 million through sophisticated romance scams and business email fraud, U.S. authorities said on Friday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Isaac Oduro Boateng, Inusah Ahmed, and Derrick van Yeboah arrived in the U.S. on Thursday and were scheduled to be presented before a magistrate judge. A fourth man, Patrick Kwame Asare, remains at large.

The four men were high-ranking members of a Ghana-based enterprise that defrauded businesses and vulnerable individuals across the United States, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court. The scheme allegedly targeted elderly victims through romance scams, where conspirators would feign romantic interest online to trick victims into sending money.

"As 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," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton in a statement.

The organization is also accused of using business email compromise (BEC) schemes to deceive companies into wiring large sums of money to bank accounts controlled by the enterprise. In total, the conspiracy allegedly laundered more than $100 million from its victims.

The extradition was the result of close collaboration between U.S. authorities and the government of Ghana. "The 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," said Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office.

The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs, along with Ghana's Economic and Organized Crime Office and the Ghana Police Service, facilitated the extradition. The men face charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.