Two Ghanaian men have pleaded guilty in a United States federal court for their roles in an international criminal organisation that stole more than US$100 million through romance scams and business email fraud.
The men, identified as 37-year-old Isaac Oduro Boateng, popularly known as “Kofi Boat”, and 41-year-old Inusah Ahmed, also called “Pascal”, were described by US prosecutors as senior figures who supervised the network, which was primarily based in Ghana.
Boateng entered his guilty plea on October 29, 2026, while Ahmed pleaded guilty on October 27 before US District Judge Arun Subramanian in the Southern District of New York. Both admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, an offence carrying a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
According to court documents, the organisation targeted individuals and businesses across the United States. Its romance scam operations involved creating fake online identities to establish relationships with victims, many of whom were older people.
After gaining their trust, members persuaded victims to transfer money or assist in laundering funds obtained from other targets. The group also used business email compromise schemes to deceive companies into sending money to accounts controlled by the network.
Prosecutors said Boateng was held responsible for approximately US$12.5 million in victim losses, while Ahmed was linked to about US$28.5 million. Both agreed to restitution and forfeiture payments corresponding to those amounts.
Another member, Derrick Van Yeboah, also known as “Van”, has already been sentenced to 85 months in prison. A fourth alleged member, Patrick Kwame Asare, known as “Borgar”, remains at large.
The two men were extradited from Ghana to the United States in August 2025 following cooperation between Ghanaian and American law enforcement agencies.
Their sentencing dates have not yet been announced.
