A 41-year-old Ghanaian man has been sentenced to 85 months in a United States federal prison for his involvement in a transnational cybercrime syndicate that defrauded victims of more than $100 million through romance scams and business email compromise schemes.
Derrick Van Yeboah was sentenced on Monday, July 27, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian after pleading guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Prosecutors identified Van Yeboah as one of the leaders of the Ghana-based criminal network, which targeted dozens of victims, including elderly men and women who believed they were involved in genuine online relationships.
According to court filings, the syndicate operated primarily from Ghana and relied on two major fraud schemes. Members created false identities and cultivated fake romantic relationships to persuade victims to send money, while in business email compromise schemes, they impersonated company executives to deceive businesses into transferring funds.
The proceeds, estimated at more than $100 million, were subsequently laundered and transferred to West Africa, with prosecutors holding Van Yeboah personally accountable for more than $10 million in fraudulent proceeds.
Between 2019 and 2020, Van Yeboah allegedly used false identities to convince women in Ohio and Delaware to transfer about $4.2 million into accounts controlled by the criminal network.
Authorities also linked him to a 2024 scam in which he allegedly persuaded a man in North Carolina to send approximately $123,000 after falsely claiming he needed the money to finance a parent’s funeral and recover gold and diamonds from Italy.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said the operation exploited victims’ trust and emotional vulnerability, particularly those who believed they were in legitimate romantic relationships.
“Romance scammers do not simply steal money; they weaponise trust. Van Yeboah and his co-conspirators exploited trust, loneliness, and legitimate business relationships to steal more than $100 million. Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of these calculated frauds and our commitment to pursuing international criminal organisations that target Americans,” he said.
In addition to the 85-month prison sentence, Van Yeboah was ordered to serve two years of supervised release after completing his prison term and to forfeit $10,149,429.17.
He was extradited from Ghana to the United States on August 7, 2025, following a joint operation involving the U.S. Department of Justice and several Ghanaian institutions, including the Office of the Attorney-General, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Ghana Police Service’s INTERPOL unit, the Cyber Security Authority and the National Intelligence Bureau.
