A Ghanaian man has pleaded guilty to his role in a massive fraud operation that stole more than $100 million from victims across the United States through romance scams and business email compromise schemes.
Derrick Van Yeboah, 40, admitted on Thursday that he took part in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of the plea agreement, he has agreed to pay more than $10 million in restitution to victims.
Authorities say Van Yeboah was a senior member of a large fraud network operating out of Ghana. The group targeted Americans between 2016 and May 2023 and focused on exploiting vulnerable individuals, especially older people who lived alone.
Van Yeboah was extradited to the United States in August 2025 along with several other suspects, including Isaac Oduro Boateng, also known as Kofi Boat, Inusah Ahmed, known as Pascal, and Patrick Kwame Asare, also called Borgar.
According to court documents, members of the fraud ring referred to themselves as “game boys” or “sakawa boys.” They created fake online identities to form romantic relationships with victims. After gaining trust, they convinced the victims to send money to bank accounts controlled by accomplices in the United States.
These U.S.-based intermediaries helped move and hide the stolen funds. They kept a portion of the money and then transferred the rest to leaders of the criminal network in West Africa, who were known within the group as “chairmen.”
The group also carried out business email compromise attacks. In these scams, the criminals used fake or spoofed email addresses that appeared to belong to company employees or customers. Businesses were then tricked into sending large payments to fraudulent bank accounts.
Prosecutors said Van Yeboah personally carried out several of the romance scams described in the indictment. Investigators linked him directly to more than $10 million in losses.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said many victims were simply looking for companionship online and were targeted because of their vulnerability. He warned people to be cautious when meeting others on dating websites and advised never sending money to someone they have only met online.
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Van Yeboah is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian on June 3. He faces a possible prison sentence of up to 20 years.
