Ghanaian Socialite Admits Guilt in $100M US Fraud Ring

A 40-year-old Ghanaian national and known socialite, Derrick Van Yeboah, alias “Van,” has pleaded guilty in a United States federal court to his pivotal role in a sprawling international fraud operation that siphoned more than $100 million from American victims through sophisticated romance scams and business email compromises. The plea came before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in the Southern District of New York, where Van Yeboah admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, facing up to 20 years in prison. He has agreed to pay restitution and forfeiture totaling $10,149,429.17 for the over $10 million he personally stole by impersonating romantic partners online.

Van Yeboah operated as a high-ranking member of a Ghana-based criminal syndicate, dubbed “game boys” or “sakawa boys,” which preyed on vulnerable elderly Americans seeking companionship on dating sites and social media from 2016 to May 2023. Scammers built trust with fake personas before coercing victims to wire money or launder funds, while also executing business email compromise (BEC) attacks by spoofing executive emails to dupe companies into unauthorized transfers. Proceeds were laundered through U.S. middlemen to West Africa, funding “chairmen” who directed the enterprise.

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Van Yeboah was extradited to the U.S. in August 2025 alongside alleged co-conspirators Isaac Oduro Boateng (“Kofi Boat”), Inusah Ahmed (“Pascal”), and Patrick Kwame Asare (“Borgar”), all charged in the same $100 million scheme. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led the probe, with support from Ghanaian authorities and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs. Sentencing is set for June 3, 2026.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton condemned the exploitation, stating Van Yeboah “cruelly exploited those vulnerabilities for over $10 million in illicit profit” and urged online vigilance: “Never give money to someone you just met—and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” The case underscores rising cyber-fraud threats from West African networks targeting isolated individuals and businesses.