By Gifty Boateng
A United States district court has set June 3, 2026, as the date for sentencing Derrick Van Yeboah, a 40-year-old Ghanaian national and alleged mastermind of a transnational cyber fraud syndicate. Yeboah, known in underworld circles as ‘Van’, is expected to receive a federal prison term of no less than 20 years after pleading guilty to his role in a sprawling conspiracy that defrauded victims of more than US$100 million.
Yeboah is one of four Ghanaian nationals indicted last year following a joint operation between Ghanaian authorities and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). His co-defendants include Isaac Oduro Boateng (alias ‘Kofi Boat’), Inusah Ahmed (‘Pascal’), and Patrick Kwame Asare (‘Borgar’). While Boateng, Ahmed, and Yeboah were arrested in Ghana and extradited to the US on August 7, 2025, Asare remains at large.
According to the unsealed indictment from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the enterprise operated under the guise of ‘sakawa’ the local term for internet fraud but its methods were ruthlessly sophisticated.
The group targeted vulnerable, often elderly individuals across the United States through romance scams. Using fake identities, Yeboah and his associates cultivated intimate relationships with victims over weeks or months, referring to them callously as “clients.”
Once trust was established, victims were manipulated into wiring money to accounts controlled by the enterprise, funds the conspirators chillingly dubbed “clean money” because victims were unlikely to report the fraud quickly due to embarrassment or affection.
The syndicate also evolved into high-level business email compromise (BEC) schemes, which they called “ali baba.” They impersonated company executives and suppliers using email accounts with slight variations of legitimate addresses, often backing their fraudulent requests with forged authorisation letters and fake signatures. This tactic diverted large corporate payments to accounts under their control.
The stolen proceeds were laundered through a network of middlemen in the US operating shell companies fronting as automobile dealerships, food importers, and freight forwarders. After taking their cuts, the funds were funnelled to Ghana, where high-ranking members, referred to as ‘chairmen’, distributed the profits. Yeboah, prosecutors say, was not only an architect of the schemes but also personally engaged in romance fraud.
As part of his plea agreement, Yeboah has consented to forfeit assets and pay more than US$10 million in restitution. US Attorney Jay Clayton, in a statement following the extractions last year, underscored the global reach of the investigation:
“Offshore scammers should know that we, the FBI, and our law enforcement partners will work around the world to combat online fraud and bring perpetrators to justice.” The defendants face multiple counts, including wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering, carrying maximum sentences of up to 20 years per count. Authorities are now moving to seize assets linked to the illicit gains.