US-based Ghanaian man jailed 17 years over $38 million email fraud scheme

Nii Ayitey Brown 10:15 - 05 June 2026

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A Ghanaian national has been sentenced to 17 years in a U.S. federal prison after prosecutors linked him to a transnational business email compromise scheme that stole more than $38 million from victims.

Ghanaian national Kelvin Owusu Nkwantabisa has been sentenced to 17 years in prison in the United States over a $38 million business email compromise fraud scheme.
U.S. prosecutors identified him as the leader of the American-based wing of a transnational cybercrime network.
Three other defendants were also sentenced for fraud and money laundering offences linked to the scheme.

A Ghanaian national has been sentenced to 17 years in a United States federal prison for his role in a cyber fraud scheme that stole more than $38 million from businesses and individuals across the United States and other countries.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, Kelvin Owusu Nkwantabisa, also known as “Kevin Brown” and “KO”, was identified as the leader of the U.S.-based arm of a criminal network involved in a sophisticated Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme.

Nkwantabisa was among four defendants sentenced after pleading guilty to offences linked to fraud and money laundering. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and received the heaviest sentence of the group, 17 years in prison.

Federal prosecutors said the criminal operation had been active since at least August 2022 and targeted businesses and individuals by gaining unauthorized access to email accounts involved in legitimate financial transactions.

The fraudsters monitored communications between companies and their clients, impersonated trusted business partners and redirected payments into bank accounts controlled by members of the criminal network.

According to court records, the stolen funds were subsequently moved through multiple bank accounts and shell companies in an effort to conceal their origins and evade law enforcement detection.

U.S. authorities said Nkwantabisa played a central role in coordinating the operation. Prosecutors stated that he worked with overseas accomplices, directed the creation of bank accounts across several U.S. states, monitored incoming fraudulent payments and instructed co-conspirators on how to launder proceeds from the scheme.

"This was organized international fraud carried out through deception, stolen trust, and financial manipulation," U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in a statement released by the Department of Justice.

These defendants infiltrated legitimate business communications, diverted millions of dollars, and laundered the proceeds through shell companies and fraudulent bank accounts to conceal their crimes.

Three other defendants were also sentenced in the case.

Leshea Moore, who established shell companies, opened bank accounts using false identities and managed others involved in the operation, was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Justice Amoh, who admitted opening bank accounts under fictitious identities and conducting transactions to launder proceeds, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

John Jouissance, who established shell companies and bank accounts used to receive stolen funds, was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

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