Twin brothers have pleaded guilty to defrauding lonely pensioners out of millions of pounds by building fake online romances before demanding money. Jamal and Kamal Abubakar, 22, from Ghana, worked with a 53-year-old US woman to steal $9m (£6.7m) from elderly victims using fake identities.
Guilty Plea and Charges
On October 27, the group pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and admitted to being part of an international criminal network. They now face up to 20 years in prison.
Between July 2024 and April 2026, the defendants used fake social media accounts to build close relationships with victims before persuading them to send large sums to a Ghanaian bank account. Part of the funds was then forwarded to other co-conspirators in Ghana.
Forfeiture and Victims
As part of the plea deal, the twins and Amanda Joy Opoku-Boachie, from Hawaii, agreed to forfeit luxury jewellery. Investigators seized watches, earrings, chains, and rings after the arrests.
Many victims were from Ohio, along with 24 other US states, while others lived in countries such as Austria and Germany. The defendants used several aliases, including Jamal Abubakar, Arrangement, Kamal Abubakar, Lancaster, Amanda Joy Glum, and Amanda Joy Kessei Bierman.
Sentencing and Related Cases
The group is due to be sentenced next year. This case follows the extradition of Ghanaian social media influencer Frederick Kumi, known as Abu Trica, who was returned to the US in June for allegedly running a similar romance scam that defrauded elderly Americans of more than $8m (£5.9m).
Separately, an 80-year-old British woman handed over £140,000 after believing she was in an online relationship with a man she met on Facebook, but was actually chatting to fraudsters using AI to create images and voice notes, her daughter Helen told the BBC.
