Ghanaian socialite fraudster Abu Trica faces 20 years in U.S. prison

Fredrick ‘Abu Trica’ Kumi, a Ghanaian socialite extradited to America over a multimillion-dollar romance scam, has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

A Department of Justice statement on Tuesday said, “Kumi (Abu Trica) has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Additionally, his ill-gotten gains are subject to forfeiture. Kumi faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment.

“Kumi allegedly used his ill-gotten gains to acquire luxury vehicles and other items of value. Assets seized by international law enforcement partners included a mansion in Ghana, a Lamborghini, Tesla Cybertruck, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW.”

Investigations revealed that from about April 2023 to November 2025, Mr Kumi was part of a criminal network that devised romance fraud schemes to obtain money from elderly United States citizens.

According to the DoJ, Mr Kumi  employed advanced techniques, including AI-driven video platforms, to engage with the victims under fictitious female personas. Others involved in the deception leveraged Ghanaian associates to communicate directly with victims via encrypted apps and by phone, to maintain the false identities used to facilitate the fraud.

“After being misled by false stories or gold or diamond inheritances, 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. Abu Trica and other co-conspirators used money mules based in Ghana, and contacts in the Ghanaian immigrant community in the U.S., to launder millions of dollars through fake businesses and bank accounts,” the DoJ said.

The Ghanaian fraudster was extradited to the U.S. last week after an Accra court approved his extradition, a year after a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging him and others with defrauding elderly victims of over $8 million.

His lawyer, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, in a post on X on Thursday, faulted Mr Kumi’s extradition, noting that his case had yet to be decided by the Ghanaian court.

“The public press this morning reports that Mr Frederick Kumi was removed from this jurisdiction earlier today, aboard Delta Air Lines flight 157, an aircraft that departed at sixteen minutes past nine o’clock,” Mr Barker-Vormawor said. “If a man may be placed upon an aircraft while his case is being called, and this Court cannot answer for it, what is the point of justice?”