Three Ghanaians extradited to US over ‘$100m romance, email scam’

Three Ghanaians extradited to US over ‘$100m romance, email scam’

 Four Ghanaian nationals have been indicted in the United
States for their alleged roles in an international criminal organisation that
defrauded victims of over $100 million through romance scams and business email
compromises.

 

The indictment, unsealed by Jay Clayton, the US attorney for
the southern district of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, FBI assistant
director in charge, named Isaac Oduro Boateng (aka “Kofi Boat”), Inusah Ahmed
(aka “Pascal”), Derrick Van Yeboah (aka “Van”), and Patrick Kwame Asare (aka
“Borgar”) as key members of the fraud ring.

 

Boateng, Ahmed, and Van Yeboah were extradited from Ghana
and arrived in the US on August 7, while Asare is said to still be on the run.

 

The suspected fraudsters were presented before Robert W.
Lehrburger, the US magistrate judge, on Friday. According to the FBI, the case
is assigned to Arun Subramanian, US district judge.

 

According to the FBI, the suspects operated a sophisticated
scheme targeting vulnerable individuals, particularly elderly victims, by
posing as romantic partners online to gain their trust and defraud them of
money.

 

The group also executed business email compromise attacks to
trick companies into wiring funds to their accounts.

 

The stolen proceeds were reportedly laundered back to West
Africa, with Boateng and Ahmed identified as “chairmen” who coordinated the
criminal activities.

 

 

Each defendant faces multiple charges, including wire fraud
conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to receive
stolen money, and receipt of stolen money.

 

Convictions could result in sentences of up to 20 years in
prison for some counts.

 

Clayton praised the FBI’s efforts and acknowledged the
cooperation of Ghanaian authorities, including the Economic and Organized Crime
Office, Ghana Police Service – INTERPOL, Cyber Security Authority, and National
Intelligence Bureau, which facilitated the extraditions.

 

“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,” Clayton said.

 

“Offshore 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.”

 

The prosecution is being handled by the Complex Frauds and
Cybercrime Unit, led by Kevin Mead and Mitzi Steiner, assistant US attorneys

Source: Three Ghanaians extradited to US over ‘$100m romance, email scam’

 - NigerianEye
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