A Ghanaian social media influencer known as Abu Trica, whose real name is Frederick Kumi, has been extradited to the US to face trial for allegedly running a romance scam that defrauded elderly Americans of over $8m (\u00a35.9m).<\/b><\/p>\n
He denies all the charges against him.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said he used AI tools to create fake online identities, targeting victims through social media and dating sites, earning their trust then extorting their money.<\/p>\n
Kumi was flown to the US on Thursday and faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.<\/p>\n
Kumi’s lawyer, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, told the BBC he went to court on Thursday to stop the extradition before learning a short while later that Kumi had in fact already been extradited on board a Delta Airlines flight.<\/p>\n
Barker-Vormawor accuses Ghana’s government of sidestepping “judicial oversight” by allegedly not waiting for the court’s verdict, and says their decision to extradite Kumi “raises profound constitutional questions”.<\/p>\n
The Ghanaian government has yet to comment.<\/p>\n
Kumi had long flaunted luxury items online to his more than 100,000 Instagram followers.<\/p>\n
This raised suspicions about the sources of his income.<\/p>\n
US prosecutors say victims were allegedly targeted through social media and online dating platforms, lured in via frequent and intimate conversations.<\/p>\n
This would escalate to “requests for money or valuables under false pretences – such as urgent medical needs, travel expenses or investment opportunities”.<\/p>\n
The monies, or valuables, were then directed to co-conspirators posing as third parties. Kumi allegedly distributed the money to his associates in the US and in Ghana.<\/p>\n
Kumi, who is from the town of Swedru in southern Ghana, was arrested in a joint Ghana-US operation last year.<\/p>\n
There is some disagreement about Kumi’s true age, with his lawyer saying he 28 years old and\u00a0US prosecutors saying he is 31<\/a>.<\/p>\n The case is being prosecuted under the US Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution law.<\/p>\n US authorities have in recent months stepped up their crackdown on criminal networks operating in the US and West Africa who seek to defraud elderly Americans.<\/p>\n Last week, extradited Ghanaian fraudster\u00a0Joseph Kwadwo Badu Boateng – popularly known as Dada Joe Remix – pleaded guilty in the US\u00a0to using romance and inheritance schemes<\/a> to defraud Americans.<\/p>\n In December, a court in the US also sentenced Oluwaseun Adekoya, a Nigerian ringleader of nationwide bank fraud and money-laundering conspiracies, to 20 years in prison for laundering over $2m.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"