Ghanaian national Derrick Van Yeboah has been sentenced to 85 months in a United States federal prison for his role in an international criminal network that stole and laundered more than $100m through romance scams and business email fraud.
The 41-year-old, also known as ‘Van’, was held personally responsible for more than $10m in losses. His conviction underlines growing cooperation between Ghanaian and US authorities in tackling cyber-enabled financial crime that crosses national borders.
Court imposes 85-month term
US District Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced Van Yeboah on July 28, 2026, after he pleaded guilty on March 5 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Van Yeboah belonged to a Ghana-based criminal enterprise that targeted individuals and companies in the United States.
The organisation used false identities to convince victims that they were involved in genuine romantic relationships. It also deployed business email compromise schemes to trick companies into wiring money to accounts controlled by the enterprise.
Prosecutors said the conspiracy stole and laundered more than $100m from dozens of victims, with the proceeds subsequently moved to West Africa.
Many of those targeted were older men and women who believed they were communicating with legitimate romantic partners.
Once trust had been established, members of the network requested money for invented emergencies, business opportunities, travel expenses or family obligations.
The methods mirror patterns identified in academic research on West African romance fraud republished by Africa Briefing, including the use of fabricated identities and sustained emotional manipulation.
Between 2019 and 2020, prosecutors said Van Yeboah used false identities to defraud women in Ohio and Delaware. The two victims were persuaded to transfer about $4.2m into bank accounts linked to the criminal network.
In another scheme in 2024, he convinced a man in North Carolina to send approximately $123,000.
Van Yeboah claimed that he needed the money to organise a parent’s funeral and recover gold and diamonds from Italy.
In addition to the 85-month prison sentence, equivalent to seven years and one month, the court imposed two years of supervised release.
Van Yeboah was also ordered to forfeit $10,149,429.17 in money and assets connected to the fraud.
His conviction follows several other US prosecutions involving Ghana-linked romance scams. Africa Briefing previously reported that another Ghanaian faced charges over an alleged $8m fraud scheme targeting elderly Americans.
Van Yeboah was extradited from Ghana to the United States on August 7, 2025, alongside two other defendants linked to the alleged criminal network.
US Attorney Jay Clayton praised the FBI, Interpol and several Ghanaian agencies for helping to secure the extradition.
Those agencies included Ghana’s Office of the Attorney-General, the Economic and Organised Crime Office, the Cyber Security Authority, the Ghana Police Service and the National Intelligence Bureau.
‘Romance scammers do not simply steal money—they weaponise trust,’ Clayton said.
He added that Van Yeboah and his co-conspirators exploited loneliness, personal trust and legitimate business relationships to steal more than $100m.
The prosecution forms part of a broader international crackdown on digital fraud. Interpol-led cybercrime operations across Africa have resulted in hundreds of arrests and the disruption of networks involved in romance scams, online extortion and financial fraud.
