25-year-old Ghanaian jailed in the US for role in romance fraud scheme

A 25-year-old Ghanaian has been sentenced to three years of federal probation, including eight months on home detention with electronic monitoring, and ordered to pay $156,073 in restitution for wire fraud.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Ganidekam admitted to his role in a romance fraud scheme.

From June 2019 until at least May 14, 2020, Ganidekam received approximately $189,404 from at least 14 victims who were convinced to send the money for a variety of false and fraudulent reasons.

The victims include a woman who in January and February 2020 sent thousands of dollars to a false persona she believed was her boyfriend.

Ganidekam admitted to receiving the fraudulent proceeds through his bank account in Ohio, where he lived at the time, via wire transfers and personal and cashier’s checks. Ganidekam further admitted to transferring a portion of these fraudulent proceeds to his bank account in Huntington, and to keeping some of the victims’ money for himself while forwarding some to others in the United States and abroad.

The United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), the West Virginia State Police, and the South Charleston Police Department.

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United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys R. Gregory McVey and Kathleen Robeson prosecuted the case.