Ghanaian National Pleads Guilty To $10 Million Romance Scam

A Ghanaian national pleaded guilty Thursday to his role in an international criminal scheme that defrauded dozens of victims across the United States out of more than $100 million through romance scams and business email compromises, federal prosecutors said.

Derrick Van Yeboah, 40, known as "Van," admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in the Southern District of New York. Van Yeboah is personally held responsible for stealing more than $10 million and has agreed to pay $10,149,429.17 in restitution and forfeiture.

Van Yeboah was a member of a criminal organization based primarily in Ghana that targeted vulnerable Americans, many of them elderly, by cultivating fictitious online romantic relationships. Once victims were emotionally invested, conspirators persuaded them to wire money to the enterprise or to unknowingly launder funds stolen from other victims. The organization also infiltrated legitimate businesses through email compromise schemes, tricking companies into transferring funds to accounts controlled by the group. All fraud proceeds were laundered back to West Africa.

Van Yeboah personally assumed fake romantic personas in communications with victims, prosecutors said.

"Van Yeboah cruelly exploited those vulnerabilities for over $10 million in illicit profit," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.

Van Yeboah faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for June 3, 2026. The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation, with cooperation from Ghana and the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mead and Mitzi Steiner of the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.