U.S. authorities have outlined the extensive multi-agency collaboration that led to the arrest of 31-year-old Frederick Kumi, also known as Abu Trica, the suspected mastermind behind an $8 million romance fraud scheme targeting elderly Americans.
Officials confirm that the operation, executed on December 11, 2025, was one of the most coordinated cross-border law enforcement partnerships in recent years.
The effort involved several Ghanaian institutions, including the Attorney-General’s Office, EOCO, the Ghana Police Service, the Cyber Security Authority, NACOC, and the National Intelligence Bureau, working closely with key U.S. federal agencies.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Sensitive Investigations Unit, Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Accra played critical roles in intelligence sharing, digital tracking, and coordinating legal processes related to the indictment.
Kumi was indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Investigators linked him to a criminal network that defrauded elderly victims through romance scams dating back to 2023. He is alleged to have moved substantial sums through complex channels to evade detection.
Officials say the operation underscores the growing cooperation between Ghanaian and U.S. agencies in combating transnational crimes, particularly cyber-enabled fraud schemes affecting victims across both countries.
