CLEVELAND — Federal prosecutors allege a Ghanaian national used AI-driven video technology to pose as a fictitious woman and cultivate online relationships with elderly American victims, as part of a romance fraud network accused of taking more than $8 million from over 80 victims.
Frederick Kumi, 31 — who also went by Emmanuel Kojo Baah Obeng and Abu Trica — was extradited from Ghana to the United States on July 9, following his arrest there on December 11, 2025, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
He is charged alongside co-defendant Daniel Yussif, also known as Denteni or Slab, 31, of Accra; the office’s statement does not specify whether Yussif has been arrested or what charges he faces.
The AI element. According to court documents cited by prosecutors, the alleged scheme relied on synthetic video to sustain a false identity over time — a step beyond the static photos and text-based catfishing typically associated with romance fraud. Prosecutors allege Kumi used the AI-generated persona to build trust with victims, while other members of the network allegedly used encrypted messaging apps and phone calls to reinforce the same false identities.
The statement does not specify which AI tools or platforms were used, and no independent technical analysis of the video content has been made public.Cases involving AI-generated video or “deepfake” personas in romance fraud remain relatively rare in publicly documented federal prosecutions, though the FBI and other agencies have warned in recent years that generative AI is lowering the barrier to convincing long-term impersonation scams.
This case would be among the more detailed examples cited by federal prosecutors of AI video specifically alleged to have been used to deceive victims over an extended period, rather than in a single fabricated call or image.
The alleged scheme. Prosecutors say the network, which operated from roughly April 2023 to November 2025, targeted victims — predominantly widows and divorcees — identified through dating sites and social media. Victims were allegedly induced through fabricated stories, including claims involving gold or diamond inheritances, to wire money to accounts controlled by the group. Proceeds were allegedly funneled to co-conspirators in Ghana and laundered through money mules, fake businesses and bank accounts, with help from contacts in Ghana’s immigrant community in the U.S.
Seized assets. Law enforcement seized a mansion in Ghana and several luxury vehicles — a Lamborghini, a Tesla Cybertruck, a Mercedes-Benz and a BMW — that prosecutors allege were purchased with proceeds of the scheme. The government is separately seeking forfeiture of Kumi’s alleged gains.
Charges and process. Kumi faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering conspiracy, carrying a statutory maximum of 20 years. The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that an indictment is an accusation, not evidence of guilt, and that each defendant is presumed innocent until the government proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The investigation. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Cleveland Division and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian M. McDonough and Elliot Morrison.
The office credited multiple Ghanaian agencies — including the Attorney General’s Office, the Economic and Organised Crime Office, the Ghana Police Service, the Cyber Security Authority and the National Intelligence Bureau — along with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and the FBI’s legal attaché in Accra, for their roles in the arrest and extradition. The prosecution falls under the Justice Department’s Elder Justice Initiative.
Source:U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio
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