A Ghanaian national extradited to the United States has admitted his role in a romance and inheritance fraud scheme and agreed to pay about $4.4 million in restitution to compensate victims for their financial losses as part of a plea agreement.
Joseph Kwadwo Badu Boateng, also known as “Dada Joe Remix,” pleaded guilty last week to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
Prosecutors alleged that Boateng and his associates deceived victims by posing as romantic partners through online dating platforms, text messages and other electronic communications. They also falsely claimed to have inherited gold and jewels, convincing victims to send money to cover purported taxes and other charges before the assets could be released.
Boateng was arrested in Ghana on May 27, 2025, under an extradition warrant and was transferred to the United States the following month. He has remained in custody since his arrest.
Court documents indicate that the fraud operation ran from 2013 until March 2023, with Boateng and his co-conspirators targeting elderly victims in Arizona and other parts of the United States. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 8, 2026, before United States District Judge Angela M. Martinez.
The investigation and extradition were carried out through collaboration between U.S. and Ghanaian authorities. The U.S. Attorney’s Office acknowledged the assistance of the FBI Legal Attaché in Accra, Ghana’s Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Ghana Police Service’s INTERPOL unit, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs in facilitating Boateng’s extradition.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Phoenix Division through its Sierra Vista office, while prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona in Tucson are handling the prosecution.
