Ghanaian social media personality Frederick Kumi, known online as Abu Trica, has been extradited to the United States to stand trial over an alleged romance scam that prosecutors say stole more than $8 million from elderly Americans.
Kumi was put on a Delta flight to the US on Thursday. He is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He denies all charges.
US prosecutors allege Kumi used AI tools to build fake online identities. He then contacted victims on social media and dating sites, built close relationships, and asked for money for things like medical emergencies, travel, and investments. The funds were allegedly sent to accomplices in the US and Ghana, who helped move the money.
The case drew attention partly because of Kumi’s online presence. To his more than 100,000 Instagram followers, he regularly posted photos of luxury cars, cash, and properties. That lifestyle prompted questions about how he was making money.
His arrest happened last year during a joint Ghana-US operation in his hometown of Swedru in southern Ghana. There is still disagreement over his age. His lawyer, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, says Kumi is 28. US prosecutors list him as 31.
The extradition itself has sparked a legal dispute. Barker-Vormawor told the BBC he went to court Thursday to block it, only to learn Kumi had already left. He accuses the Ghanaian government of bypassing “judicial oversight” and raising “profound constitutional questions.”
Ghana’s Attorney General and Justice Minister Dominic Ayeni rejected that claim. He said the court had already dismissed a habeas corpus application last week, and that a surrender warrant was signed by the interior minister on Wednesday before Kumi was taken out on Thursday. “So what due process is he talking about?” Ayeni asked.
The case is being prosecuted under the US Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution law. It is part of a wider US push against fraud networks in West Africa targeting older Americans.
Just last week, another Ghanaian man, Joseph Kwadwo Badu Boateng, known as Dada Joe Remix, pleaded guilty in the US to romance and inheritance scams. In December, Nigerian national Oluwaseun Adekoya was sentenced to 20 years for laundering over $2 million in bank fraud schemes.
