Two men who helped run a Ghana-based romance scam ring plead guilty in New York
Isaac Oduro Boateng and Inusah Ahmed pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. US prosecutors say the Ghana-based group stole more than $100 million through romance scams and business email compromises and laundered the proceeds to West Africa.
Two Ghanaian men pleaded guilty in federal court in the Southern District of New York to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced on 29 October 2026. Isaac Oduro Boateng, 37, known as Kofi Boat, pleaded guilty on 29 October 2026. Inusah Ahmed, 41, known as Pascal, pleaded guilty on 27 October 2026. Both pleaded before US District Judge Arun Subramanian. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; the judge will decide the actual sentence.
According to the US Attorney's Office, the two men belonged to a criminal organisation based mainly in Ghana that stole more than $100 million from victims in the United States through romance scams and business email compromises. In the romance scams, members of the group used fake identities to build online relationships with victims, many of them older people, and then persuaded them to send money or to help move money taken from other victims. In the business email compromise schemes (fake emails that trick a business into sending a payment), members induced businesses to wire funds to the group. Prosecutors said the proceeds were then laundered to West Africa.
The office said Boateng and Ahmed both held the role of chairman in the conspiracy and helped manage and supervise its activity. Boateng agreed to pay $12,529,213.98 in restitution and forfeiture, and Ahmed agreed to pay $28,574,002. Both men were extradited from Ghana on 7 August 2025. A co-defendant, Derrick Van Yeboah, was previously sentenced to 85 months in prison, and another co-defendant, Patrick Kwame Asare, remains at large, according to the office.
The office thanked the FBI and several Ghanaian authorities for their help, including the Ghana Economic Organised Crime Office, the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Financial Intelligence Centre.
Why it matters to AML professionals
Romance scam and business email compromise proceeds often pass through money mule accounts held by victims who have been groomed to move funds. AML professionals who monitor retail and small business accounts may be the first to see these payments before the money leaves the country. Spotting a customer who is being used as a mule can stop losses and support a useful suspicious activity report.
Red flags in this case
- An older customer sends repeated wires or transfers to a new overseas beneficiary they have never paid before, often after a recent online relationship
- A personal account starts receiving funds from several unrelated people or businesses and quickly sends the money onward abroad
- A business receives an emailed request to change a supplier's bank details shortly before a large payment is due
- Outgoing payments to West Africa or to intermediary accounts that do not match the customer's known profile or stated purpose
If this landed in your queue
- Review the customer's payment history for a sudden change in beneficiaries, payment destinations or transaction volumes
- Contact the customer through a known channel to ask about the purpose of the payments and whether someone they met online asked them to move money
- Check whether incoming credits come from other possible victims, for example recall requests or fraud reports from other banks
- File a suspicious activity report that describes the pattern clearly, and consider holding or returning funds in line with your institution's policy
Key terms
- Business email compromise (BEC)
- A fraud in which criminals send fake or hacked emails to trick a business into sending a payment to an account they control.
- Money mule
- A person who moves stolen money on behalf of criminals, sometimes without knowing the money is stolen.
- Restitution
- Money a convicted person is ordered to pay to compensate victims for their losses.
Interview angle
How would you tell a romance scam victim apart from a willing money mule when reviewing an alert?
Explain that you look at the customer's history, how the activity started, whether they receive and pass on funds from others, and what they say when contacted. Note that some victims become mules, so the SAR should describe the activity, not judge the customer.
Sources
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