Ghanaian man jailed 85 months in US over $100m romance scam and business email fraud

A Ghanaian national has been sentenced to 85 months in a United States federal prison for his role in an international criminal syndicate that defrauded victims of more than $100 million through romance scams and business email compromise (BEC) schemes.

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that Derrick Van Yeboah, also known as "Van", received the prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on March 5, 2026. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian.

US prosecutor condemns romance scams.

Commenting on the case, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said romance scams inflict emotional and financial harm by exploiting victims' trust.

"Romance scammers do not simply steal money—they weaponise trust. Van Yeboah and his co-conspirators exploited trust, loneliness, and legitimate business relationships to steal more than $100 million. Today's sentence reflects the seriousness of these calculated frauds and our commitment to pursuing international criminal organisations that target Americans."

How the fraud scheme operated

According to U.S. court documents, Van Yeboah was part of a criminal network primarily operating from Ghana that targeted individuals and businesses across the United States.

The syndicate used fake online identities to deceive victims into believing they were involved in genuine romantic relationships. After gaining their trust, victims were persuaded to transfer large sums of money or assist in laundering funds obtained from other fraud victims.

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The group also carried out business email compromise (BEC) attacks, tricking companies into sending payments to fraudulent bank accounts controlled by members of the organisation.

Authorities said the conspiracy stole and laundered more than $100 million before transferring the proceeds to West Africa.

Van Yeboah linked to multimillion-dollar romance scams

Investigators said Van Yeboah personally managed several romance scams using fake identities.

Between 2019 and 2020, he allegedly convinced women from Ohio and Delaware to transfer approximately $4.2 million to accounts controlled by the criminal network.

In another case in 2024, prosecutors said he defrauded a man from North Carolina of approximately $123,000 after falsely claiming he needed financial assistance to cover a parent's funeral and recover gold and diamonds from Italy.

Overall, U.S. authorities held Van Yeboah responsible for more than $10 million in losses suffered by victims through the romance scams he personally orchestrated.

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Additional penalties imposed

In addition to the 85-month prison sentence, the 41-year-old Ghanaian was ordered to serve two years of supervised release after completing his custodial term.

The court also ordered him to forfeit $10,149,429.17, representing proceeds linked to the fraud scheme.

Ghanaian authorities assisted extradition.

The U.S. Department of Justice credited the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for leading the investigation.

Officials also acknowledged the cooperation of Ghanaian authorities in securing Van Yeboah's extradition to the United States on August 7, 2025.

Agencies that assisted included Ghana's Office of the Attorney-General, Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Ghana Police Service–INTERPOL, Cyber Security Authority, and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB).

The case was prosecuted by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.