Two Ghanaian men identified by US authorities as senior figures in an international cybercrime network have admitted their roles in a fraud operation that cost victims across the United States more than $100 million.
Isaac Oduro Boateng, 37, popularly known as “Kofi Boat”, and Inusah Ahmed, 41, also known as “Pascal”, were described by prosecutors as “chairmen” of the criminal organisation, which operated primarily from Ghana.
Both men entered guilty pleas before US District Judge Arun Subramanian at the Southern District of New York. Boateng pleaded guilty on Thursday, October 29, 2026, two days after Ahmed admitted his involvement on October 27.
They each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, an offence that carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
US Attorney Jamie McDonald said the guilty pleas demonstrated that suspects involved in crimes against Americans could still be brought before US courts, regardless of where they operated.
“These guilty pleas demonstrate that geographic borders will not shield those who exploit Americans from facing justice in our courts,” US Attorney Jamie McDonald said.
“Isaac Oduro Boateng and Inusah Ahmed helped supervise an international criminal organisation that preyed on vulnerable Americans, exploiting their search for companionship and turning their trust into a means of stealing millions. Together with their coconspirators, they orchestrated a massive fraud that stole more than $100 million from victims across the country.”
According to the indictment and public court documents, the organisation relied on two major methods of fraud: online romance scams and business email compromise schemes.
In the romance scams, members created false identities and used them to approach individuals across the United States, with vulnerable older men and women among those targeted.
The fraudsters cultivated online relationships with their victims, making them believe they were communicating with genuine romantic partners. Once trust had been established, the criminals persuaded them to transfer money or help move funds obtained through other fraudulent transactions.
Businesses were also targeted through email compromise operations. The syndicate deceived companies into believing that legitimate financial transactions or payment requests required their attention, resulting in money being transferred into accounts controlled by the criminals.
Funds generated through the schemes were subsequently laundered to West Africa.
Investigators identified Boateng and Ahmed as senior figures who exercised supervisory and management responsibilities within the organisation.
Court records put the financial losses attributed to Boateng at approximately $12.5 million, while Ahmed was linked to about $28.5 million in losses.
As part of their guilty pleas, Boateng agreed to restitution and forfeiture payments totalling $12,529,213.98. Ahmed, meanwhile, agreed to pay $28,574,002 in restitution and forfeiture.
The two men are not the first members of the network to face sentencing in the United States.
Another participant, Derrick Van Yeboah, also known as “Van”, was previously sentenced by Judge Subramanian to 85 months in prison.
However, Patrick Kwame Asare, popularly known as “Borgar”, who is also alleged to have been involved in the criminal operation, remains at large.
The investigation involved cooperation between several Ghanaian and American law enforcement and government institutions, particularly in securing the suspects’ transfer to the United States.
US Attorney Jamie McDonald acknowledged the contributions of Ghana’s Attorney General’s Office and its International Cooperation Unit, the Economic and Organised Crime Office, the Ghana Police Service, the Cyber Security Authority, the Ghana Immigration Service, the National Intelligence Bureau and the Financial Intelligence Centre.
On the American side, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Sensitive Investigation Unit, US Customs and Border Protection, the US Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the US Department of State and the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Accra also supported the case.
Their combined efforts led to the extradition of Boateng and Ahmed to the United States on August 7, 2025.
The prosecution is being handled by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit of the US Attorney’s Office, with Assistant US Attorneys Kevin Mead and Mitzi Steiner leading the case.
