The Cyber Security Authority (CSA), in a joint security operation, has arrested 31-year-old Frederick Kumi, also known as Emmanuel Kojo Baah Obeng and popularly called Abu Trica, together with two others, for their alleged role in a romance-scam scheme that defrauded victims of 8 million US dollars.
The operation, led on December 11, 2025, by the Acting Director-General of the CSA, Mr. Divine Selase Agbeti, was carried out in collaboration with the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.
According to an unsealed indictment by a federal grand jury in the United States, Kumi was part of a criminal network that targeted elderly victims in romance scams across the U.S. beginning in 2023.
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The indictment outlines how perpetrators used Artificial Intelligence software to craft false identities, build intimate online relationships and manipulate victims into transferring money and valuables.
These schemes frequently relied on social media and online dating platforms, where scammers operated under fabricated personas.
Investigators say that once the victims sent funds, Kumi coordinated with a network of co-conspirators to move the money from the United States to accomplices in Ghana and other jurisdictions.
The U.S. indictment charges him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and a forfeiture specification. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
The joint operation marks a significant step by the CSA and Ghana’s security agencies in responding to cross-border cyber-enabled crimes involving Ghanaian nationals.
