$9m romance fraud: three defendants plead guilty – victims in Germany too

Three defendants have pleaded guilty before a federal court in the US state of Ohio in a major romance scam case. The US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio announced this on 26 October. They are 22-year-old twin brothers from Ghana and a 53-year-old woman from Hawaii. The brothers pleaded guilty on 13 October and the woman on 20 October to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for 9 and 10 February 2027. Each faces up to 20 years in prison; the actual sentence will be set by a federal judge.

According to prosecutors, from about July 2024 to April 2026 the participants contacted older people via dating websites and social media. Using fake personas, they built close, often romantic relationships and used false stories to get victims to wire money to accounts controlled by members of the group. Some of it went to co-conspirators in Ghana and elsewhere. In total, victims lost more than $9 million. They lived in Ohio, 24 other US states, Germany and Austria; the authorities did not give a total number of victims.

At the arrests, investigators seized jewellery including luxury watches, rings, chains, medallions and earrings; the defendants agreed to forfeit it as part of their plea agreements. The FBI's Cleveland Division led the investigation, supported by numerous agencies in Ghana and the US. As a general rule: if someone you meet online quickly professes strong feelings, keeps postponing a meeting and then asks for money, do not transfer anything and contact the police.