Kofi Boat

Isaac Oduro Boateng, popularly known as Kofi Boat, is a Ghanaian socialite who became the focus of one of the largest romance fraud cases brought against Ghanaians in the United States. On 29 October 2026 he pleaded guilty in a New York federal court.

Accra businessman

Before his arrest he was known in Accra as a wealthy young businessman and the CEO of ICE Foods Limited, and his social media showed a fleet of luxury cars. He was best known in showbiz as a close associate of Shatta Wale, who has called him his godfather and publicly defended him after the arrest. Some reports also described him as a football club owner.

The case

US prosecutors in the Southern District of New York said Boateng and others belonged to a criminal group, mainly based in Ghana, that stole and laundered more than $100 million from victims through romance scams and business email compromise. Many of the victims were older Americans who were tricked into online relationships and then persuaded to send money. Prosecutors described Boateng as one of the group's "chairmen".

Extradition and plea

He and his co-accused Inusah Ahmed, known as Pascal, were extradited from Ghana on 7 August 2025. Ahmed pleaded guilty on 27 October 2026 and Boateng followed two days later, each admitting one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud before Judge Arun Subramanian. The charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. Boateng, aged 37 at the time, agreed to pay restitution and forfeiture of $12,529,213.98, linked to the losses attributed to him; Ahmed agreed to about $28.6 million, bringing the pair's total to more than $41 million.

Related cases

A co-defendant, Derrick Van Yeboah, has already been sentenced to 85 months, while another, Patrick Kwame Asare, remains at large. The case is part of a wider US push against Ghana-based romance fraud that has also seen Abu Trica and the twin brothers Lancaster and Arrangement face American courts. No sentencing date for Boateng had been announced at the time of writing.