A Ghanaian national extradited to the United States has pleaded guilty to his role in a multimillion-dollar romance and inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded victims of approximately $4.4 million and has agreed to pay restitution as part of his plea agreement.
Joseph Kwadwo Badu Boateng, also known as “Dada Joe Remix,” pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
He was arrested in Ghana on May 27, 2025, on an extradition warrant and transferred to the United States the following month. He has remained in custody since his extradition.
Court documents show that Boateng and his co-conspirators ran the scheme from 2013 to March 2023, targeting victims—particularly elderly individuals—in Arizona and other parts of the United States.
Prosecutors say the group used online dating platforms, text messages, and other electronic communications to pose as romantic partners in order to gain victims’ trust. They then falsely claimed to have inherited gold and jewels, persuading victims to pay purported taxes and fees needed to release the assets.
Authorities say the scheme resulted in losses of about $4.4 million, which Boateng has agreed to repay under his plea deal.
Boateng is scheduled to be sentenced on September 8, 2026, before United States District Judge Angela M. Martinez.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office credited cooperation between American and Ghanaian authorities in securing his arrest and extradition, including 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, the FBI Legal Attaché in Accra, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Phoenix Division through its Sierra Vista office, while prosecutors in the District of Arizona are handling the case.