Ghanaian National Derrick Van Yeboah Pleads Guilty in $100 Million International Romance Scam
Ghanaian national Derrick Van Yeboah has pleaded guilty to his involvement in an international criminal organization responsible for stealing over $100 million from victims through romance scams and business email compromises.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced the plea. He stated, “Many New Yorkers search for companionship online, and no one deserves to have their vulnerability met with fraud and theft. Van Yeboah cruelly exploited those vulnerabilities for over $10 million in illicit profit. After stealing the money, the fraud proceeds were then laundered to West Africa.”
Clayton emphasized the importance of vigilance online, particularly on dating websites, advising, “Never give money to someone you just met—and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
According to charging documents and public court statements, Van Yeboah was a member of a criminal organization based primarily in Ghana, which executed romance scams and business email compromises targeting individuals and businesses across the United States. The report indicates that many victims were vulnerable older men and women, tricked into believing they were in online romantic relationships with individuals who were, in fact, fake identities assumed by members of the conspiracy.
“Once members of the conspiracy gained the trust of their victims, they deceived them into sending money to the enterprise or into assisting them in laundering funds from other victims,” the report added.
Van Yeboah personally perpetrated many of the romance scams by impersonating fake romantic partners in communications with victims. He is held responsible for over $10 million he stole through these scams.
The 40-year-old from Ghana pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He has also agreed to make restitution and pay forfeiture in the amount of $10,149,429.17.
Van Yeboah is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Subramanian on June 3, 2026. Attorney Clayton praised the exceptional efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and extended his gratitude to Ghana and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their support.