Two brothers from Ghana and a U.S. woman were indicted in a romance scam ring accused of targeting older Americans, part of a larger coordinated federal effort that has already led to multiple guilty pleas and lengthy sentences for other defendants.

Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment in United States v. Jamal Abubakari, et al, charging three people with Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Money Laundering. The defendants named are Jamal Abubakari, aka Jamal Abubakar, aka Arrangement, 22; Kamal Abubakari, aka Kamal Abubakar, aka Lancaster, 22; and Amanda Joy Opoku-Boachie, aka Amanda Joy Glum, aka Amanda Joy Kessei Bierman, 53. Authorities arrested the three in Virginia and they remain in custody as the case moves forward.

According to the indictment, the scheme ran from about July 2024 to April 2026 and focused on older Americans using dating sites and social media. Investigators allege the conspirators created fake personas to build romantic relationships with victims, then convinced those victims to send money via wire transfer to accounts controlled by the group. Some of the funds were reportedly funneled to co-conspirators in Ghana and elsewhere as part of an organized laundering operation.

This case is linked to a larger set of coordinated prosecutions: several related matters involving conspiracies tied to Ghana that targeted elderly victims have been assigned to a single U.S. District Judge for coordinated proceedings. While many defendants remain pending trial or sentencing, prosecutors note that nine individuals already pleaded guilty and were “sentenced to approximately 50 years” in prison collectively.

Previous indictments tied to the same network include charges in cases such as United States v. Frederick Kumi, aka Emmanuel Kojo Baah Obeng, aka Abu Trica, and Daniel Yussif, aka Denteni, aka Slab, filed in late 2025. Those matters charged Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy and reflect a pattern investigators say spans multiple countries and dozens of victims.

Several defendants have already received multi-year sentences after pleading guilty. In one matter, Dwayne Asafo Adjei, a Ghanaian national, was given 71 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $372,943 in restitution. Other guilty pleas produced similar results, with restitution orders ranging from several hundred thousand to more than a million dollars in different cases.

The list of sentenced defendants includes multiple people from Ohio and Ghana who received substantial prison terms and restitution orders. Among them are individuals who were sentenced to 71 months, others to 108 months, and restitution totals reaching into the millions for some defendants. One person pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and received 12 months in prison along with restitution.

Additional arrests continue. Prosecutors noted that Kelvin Asmah, 28, a citizen of Ghana, was arrested after being charged in a second superseding indictment, and other prosecutions remain active. One defendant, Abdoul Issaka Assimiou, 37, of Cleveland, Ohio, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing.

Assistant United States Attorneys Brian M. McDonough and Elliot Morrison are handling the prosecution for the Northern District of Ohio, according to court filings. The investigation that produced the recent indictments was led by the FBI Cleveland Division, with significant assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

Federal prosecutors credited a lengthy list of international and domestic law enforcement partners who aided the probe, and those collaborators span Ghanaian agencies and multiple U.S. federal components. The agencies acknowledged include the Ghana Attorney General’s Office, EOCO, the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Cyber Security Authority, Ghana Narcotics Control Commission, Ghana Financial Intelligence Centre, and Ghana Immigration Service, among others.

U.S. partners listed by prosecutors include the FBI Washington Field Office, the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Accra, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Sensitive Investigation Unit, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Prosecutors say those partnerships were critical to identifying and dismantling elements of the scheme.

Under federal law, an indictment is only an allegation; each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, judges will determine individual sentences after reviewing case-specific factors such as prior criminal history, each defendant’s role in the offense, and other relevant characteristics of the conduct. The Department of Justice frames the effort as part of the Elder Justice Initiative, focusing on enforcement against scams that target older Americans.

• Ghana Attorney General’s Office
• EOCO – Economic Organised Crime Office
• GPS – Ghana Police Service
• Ghana Cyber Security Authority
• NACOC – Ghana Narcotics Control Commission
• Ghana Financial Intelligence Centre
• Ghana Immigration Service
• Ghana National Intelligence Bureau
• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Sensitive Investigation Unit
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection
• U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs
• U.S. Department of State
• FBI Washington Field Office
• FBI Legal Attaché Office in Accra
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia