Derrick Van Yeboah being escorted by FBI agent
Ghanaian national Derrick Van Yeboah, 40, also known as Van, has pleaded guilty to defrauding United States of America citizens more than $10 million in romance scams.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, who announced the guilty plea on March 5, said Van was part of an international criminal organisation that stole more than $100 million from victims via romance scams and business email compromises.
The embattled Ghanaian, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, faces up to 20 years in prison.
Derrick Van Yeboah was extradited to the U.S. in July 2025 together with Isaac Oduro Boateng, popularly known as Kofi Boat, and Inusah Ahmed (Pascal), for their role in a criminal enterprise that targeted vulnerable Americans through romance and inheritance scams.
Court filings made public said Van was a member of a criminal organisation primarily based in Ghana that committed romance scams and business email compromises against individuals and businesses located across the United States.
Many of the conspiracy’s victims were vulnerable older men and women who were tricked into believing that they were in online romantic relationships with persons who were, in fact, fake identities assumed by members of the conspiracy.
Once members of the conspiracy had gained the trust of their victims, they deceived those victims into sending their money to the enterprise or into helping them launder funds from other victims.
The conspirators also committed business email compromises to trick and deceive businesses into wiring funds to the enterprise, the charges said.
According to court filings, the group stole and laundered more than $100 million from dozens of victims, and the fraud proceeds were laundered to West Africa.
The documents said Van Yeboah personally perpetrated many of the romance scams by impersonating fake romantic partners in communications with victims.
He is being held responsible for more than $10 million he stole from victims via his romance scams. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Meanwhile, Van Yeboah has agreed to make restitution and pay forfeiture, both in the amount of $10,149,429.17.
He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Subramanian on June 3, 2026.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, described the crime as “a massive criminal scheme” targeting elderly men and women in online romance scams.
“Many New Yorkers search for companionship online, and no one deserves to have their vulnerability met with fraud and theft,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.
“Van Yeboah cruelly exploited those vulnerabilities for over $10 million in illicit profit. Today’s plea is a reminder to be vigilant online—especially on dating websites, never give money to someone you just met—and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” he warned.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and also thanked Ghana and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their assistance.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak