Ghanaian national Joseph Kwadwo Badu Boateng, popularly known as “Dada Joe Remix,” has pleaded guilty in the United States to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in a multi-million-dollar romance and inheritance scam that targeted elderly victims across the country.
According to U.S. authorities, Boateng entered the guilty plea last week after being extradited from Ghana in June 2025.
He was arrested in Ghana on an extradition warrant on May 27, 2025, and has remained in U.S. custody since his arrest.
Under the plea agreement, Boateng also agreed to pay approximately US$4.4 million in restitution, representing the direct financial losses linked to his role in the fraud scheme.
As part of his plea agreement, Boateng admitted that he and his co-conspirators operated a romance and inheritance fraud scheme between 2013 and March 2023, defrauding victims in Arizona and other parts of the United States.
Investigators said the co-conspirators pretended to be romantically involved with the victims through online dating sites, text, or other electronic communications to establish romantic relationships with mostly elderly victims before deceiving them into sending money.
The conspirators also falsely claimed to have inherited gold and jewellery that could only be released after taxes, shipping costs and other fees had been paid by the victims.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 8, 2026, by United States District Judge Angela M. Martinez.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Phoenix Division’s Sierra Vista Office, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is prosecuting the case.
U.S. authorities acknowledged the support of several Ghanaian institutions in securing Boateng’s extradition, including the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Ghana Police Service’s INTERPOL Unit, as well as the FBI Legal Attaché in Accra and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.
