Ghanaian twin brothers Jamal and Kamal Abubakari, and an American woman have pleaded guilty to romance fraud schemes to obtain money from victims who were mostly older Americans.

Collectively, victims lost more than $9 million to the Abubakaris’ romance-scam network, which operated from Ghana, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday.

Some of their victims in northern Ohio resided in Edgarton in Williams County. Other victims resided in 24 other states and in Germany and Austria.

The Abubakaris, 22, pleaded guilty on October 13, while their co-conspirator Amanda Opoku-Boachie, 53, of Kula, Hawaii, pleaded guilty on October 20, 2026.

As part of the plea, the Abubakaris and Ms Opoku-Boachie agreed to forfeit jewellery that investigators seized at the time of their arrests, including luxury timepieces, high-end watches, rings, chains, medallions, and earrings.

Court documents show that from about July 2024 to April 2026, the defendants targeted older Americans on dating websites and social media platforms to engage in romance fraud schemes.

The Abubakaris and their ally used fake personas to establish romantic relationships with older American women. After luring their victims into believing they were in romantic relationships, they swindled them out of millions of dollars.

Authorities arrested all three defendants in Virginia. The Abubakaris and Ms Opoku-Boachie conspired with others to use fake personas to establish close personal relationships with the victims, which were often romantic in nature.

After being misled by false stories, the victims sent money via wire transfer to financial accounts controlled by conspiracy members. Portions of the funds were further provided to co-conspirators in Ghana and elsewhere.

A series of cases related to this matter, which have also charged conspiracies tied to Ghana for targeting elderly victims, have been assigned to a U.S. district judge to coordinate proceedings, said the DOJ.

While many defendants in those matters are pending trial or sentencing, nine have already pleaded guilty and been collectively sentenced to about 50 years in prison, according to the DOJ.

In United States v. Frederick Kumi, aka Emmanuel Kojo Baah Obeng, aka Abu Trica, and Daniel Yussif, aka Denteni, aka Slab, Kumi, 31, of Swedru, Ghana, and Yussif, 31, of Accra, Ghana, were charged in December 2025 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

In United States v. David Onyinye Abuanekwu et al., Dwayne Asafo Adjei, 29, Nancy Adom, 30, and Eric Aidoo, 46, are currently serving prison sentences after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

Mr Adjei, a citizen of Ghana, was sentenced to 71 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $372,943 in restitution. Ms Adom, of Akron and Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced to 71 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,079,559 in restitution. Mr Aidoo, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced to 71 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $668,228 in restitution.

Nader Wasif is currently serving a prison sentence after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice. Mr Wasif, 31, of Brentwood, Tennessee, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay $172,644 in restitution.

Additionally, Kelvin Asmah, 28, a citizen of Ghana, was recently arrested after being charged in a second superseding indictment.

In United States v. Otuo Amponsah et al., Otuo Amponsah, Portia Joe, Anna Amponsah, Hannah Adom, and Mr Adjei are currently serving prison sentences after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.

Mr Amponsah, 34, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced to 108 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,324,675 in restitution. Ms Joe, 28, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced to 51 months in prison; three years of supervised release; and ordered to pay $2,035,438 in restitution. Ms Amponsah, 35, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced to 108 months of imprisonment; three years of supervised release; and ordered to pay $1,444,639 in restitution. Mr Adjei, 29, a citizen of Ghana, was sentenced to 71 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $372,943 in restitution.

This will run concurrently with the sentence from U.S. v. Abuanekwu et al.

Ms Adom, 27, of Akron and Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced to 71 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $278,894 in restitution.