The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Department of Justice announced the extradition of three Ghanaians – Isaac Oduro Boateng (Kofi Boat), Insuah Ahmed (Pascal), and Derrick Van Yeboah (Van) – alleged to be the kingpins of a notorious scam gang, 'The Enterprise'.

According to a statement issued by the FBI and the Department of Justice, Kofi Boat, Pascal, Van, and one other suspect who is at large, Patrick Kwame Asare (Borgar), were part of "high-ranking members of a criminal organisation based in Ghana that committed romance scams and business email compromises against individuals and businesses located across the US," stealing and laundering more than $100 million from the victims.

Details of proceedings in court and the indictment document shared by the Attorney General's Office of the Southern District of New York gave an insight into the alleged crimes committed by the four Ghanaians.

The crimes they have been charged with:

The Attorney General's Office indicated that the four men had been charged with the following crimes:

One count of wire fraud conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

One count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

One count of money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

One count of conspiracy to receive stolen money, which carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.

One count of receipt of stolen money, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

If these men were to receive the maximum sentence for each of the crimes they have been accused of, they could serve up to 75 years in US prisons.

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However, the judge presiding over the case will decide on the number of years the suspects could get for each crime, despite the maximum sentence set by the US Congress.

The office noted that the charges against the accused persons are "merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty."

How the suspects were arrested and extradited:

The Attorney General's Office also disclosed that a number of state institutions from Ghana and the United States were involved in the arrest and extradition of the suspects.

The office listed the FBI, which it praised for its outstanding work, and the US Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs as the US agencies that played key roles in the arrest and extradition of the suspects.

The office also stated the role of Ghana's International Cooperation Unit of the Office of the Attorney-General in securing the extraditions to the United States.

Additionally, the “Economic and Organised Crime Office, the Ghana Police Service – INTERPOL, Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority, and Ghana’s National Intelligence Bureau all provided significant assistance to ensure the success of these extraditions.”

Kofi Boat, two others extradited to US over $100 million fraud allegations


Details of the operations of the alleged kingpins of The Enterprise:

The indictment document, which was filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, gave details of the alleged operations of the suspects.

The document showed that the suspects started defrauding their victims from across the United States, including in the Southern District of New York, from 2016 to sometime in May 2023.

It indicated that Kofi Boat, Pascal, Van, Borgar, and their collaborators “willfully and knowingly combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed together and with each other” to commit the crimes they have been accused of, including money laundering, wire fraud, and receiving stolen money.

The document also contained correspondence between the accused persons, which showed how they shared some of the money they had allegedly stolen from their victims.

“On or about June 4, 2020, PATRICK KWAME ASARE, a/k/a ‘Borgar,’ the defendant, messaged a co-conspirator not named herein (‘CC-1’) that $187,000 in romance scam proceeds were being transferred to CC-1 for laundering. On or about June 16, 2020, ISAAC ODURO BOATENG, a/k/a ‘Kofi Boat,’ the defendant, messaged CC-1 that $200,000 in romance scam proceeds were being transferred to CC-1 for laundering.

"On or about August 28, 2020, INUSAH AHMED, a/k/a ‘Pascal,’ the defendant, messaged a second co-conspirator not named herein (‘CC-2’) that $300,000 in romance scam proceeds were being transferred to CC-2 for laundering. Those funds were transferred across state lines, and CC-2 ultimately received those funds in a bank account located in the Southern District of New York. On or about September 3, 2020, DERRICK VAN YEBOAH, a/k/a "Van," the defendant, induced a romance scam victim to transfer $18,500 to a third co-conspirator, not named herein (‘CC-3’) for laundering,” the document reads.

The document indicated that after stealing from victims in the US, the proceeds were “laundered to West Africa, where they were largely funnelled to individuals called ‘chairmen,’ who directed the activities of other members of the conspiracy.”

It stated that Kofi Boat and Pascal were considered chairmen of The Enterprise.

Read the court document below:



BAI/SEA

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