US Court Jails Ghanaian ‘Fraud Kingpin’ in US$100 Million Romance Scam Network

A United States federal court has sentenced Ghanaian national Derrick Van Yeboah, also known as “Van,” to 85 months (more than seven years) in prison for his role in an international cybercrime syndicate that prosecutors say stole more than US$100 million through romance scams and business email compromise schemes targeting victims across the United States.

The sentence marks one of the most significant convictions arising from a years-long international investigation into a Ghana-based fraud network accused of exploiting vulnerable individuals and businesses through sophisticated online deception.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Van Yeboah admitted responsibility for fraud involving more than US$10 million in victim losses. Prosecutors said he was a senior member of a criminal enterprise that used fake online identities to cultivate romantic relationships with victims before persuading them to transfer large sums of money under false pretences. The syndicate also carried out business email compromise attacks that tricked companies into wiring funds into accounts controlled by the organisation.

Investigators said proceeds from the fraud were laundered through a network of financial channels before being transferred to West Africa, where senior figures allegedly coordinated the operation and distributed the proceeds among members of the organisation.

Van Yeboah was among three Ghanaian nationals extradited to the United States in 2025 after extensive cooperation between U.S. law enforcement agencies and Ghanaian authorities. Another suspect named in the indictment remains at large.

U.S. prosecutors described the fraud as a calculated scheme that preyed on elderly and emotionally vulnerable victims while also inflicting substantial financial losses on businesses through cyber-enabled financial deception.

The conviction underscores growing international cooperation against transnational cybercrime and signals continued efforts by U.S. authorities to pursue alleged organisers of global online fraud networks operating beyond American borders.