Ghanaian Man Pleads Guilty to $100 Million International Fraud Scheme
Ghanaian National Pleads Guilty to Large-Scale Fraud Operation
A Ghanaian national has admitted to playing a key role in a large-scale fraud operation that swindled over $100 million from victims in the United States.
The Scam
The scam, which ran from 2016 to May 2023, involved a combination of business compromise attacks and romance scams. Derrick Van Yeboah, 40, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and agreed to pay more than $10 million in restitution.
How the Scam Worked
The scammers, who referred to themselves as “game boys” or “sakawa boys,” would gain the trust of their victims by pretending to be in romantic relationships with them. Once they had established a connection, they would convince their victims to deposit money into the bank accounts of U.S.-based middlemen. The middlemen would then launder the money, take a cut of the stolen funds, and send the rest to the leaders of the criminal ring in West Africa, known as “chairmen.”
Business Compromise Attacks
In addition to the romance scams, the fraud ring also used business compromise attacks to trick companies into wiring funds to the scammers. This was achieved by spoofing the email addresses of the companies’ customers or employees, making it appear as though the requests for payment were legitimate.
Van Yeboah’s Role
Van Yeboah was personally responsible for conducting many of the romance scams and was linked to more than $10 million in losses. His actions were described by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton as a “cruel exploitation” of vulnerable individuals.
Sentencing
Van Yeboah is scheduled to be sentenced on June 3 and faces up to 20 years in prison. His extradition to the United States in August 2025 was part of a larger effort to dismantle the fraud ring, which also resulted in the extradition of his accomplices, Isaac Oduro Boateng, Inusah Ahmed, and Patrick Kwame Asare.
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