US-based Ghanaian trio charged over 2018 bank fraud conspiracy
The trio are alleged to have negotiated fraudulent checks with forged signatures between June and September 2018
Three Ghanaian men based in the US have been charged by authorities there over a conspiracy to commit bank fraud in 2018.
Eugene O. Koranteng (30), Emmanuel S. Yirenkyi (28), and Misty Sarfo-Adu (28), all residents of New Jersey, are alleged to have negotiated fraudulent checks with forged signatures between June and September 2018, a US Department of Justice statement said.
“Koranteng, Yirenkyi, and Sarfo-Adu conspired to commit bank fraud by obtaining blank checks containing the names and account information of unsuspecting customers of a credit card company. They made the checks payable to members of the conspiracy, forged the customers’ signatures on the checks, and negotiated the checks at financial institutions. In July 2018, Sarfo-Adu messaged Yirenkyi a photograph of four blank checks with the account information of a customer of the credit card company. One of the checks was then made payable to Koranteng for $8,750 and deposited into Koranteng’s bank account,” the statement detailed.
In court documents filed in the case, US authorities said communications between the conspirators also showed they used the means of identification of Credit Card Company 1 account holders, without the account holders' lawful authorization, to obtain funds through fraud.
"For example, on July 19, 2018, between approximately 1:32 p,m, and 1:53 p.m., Yirenkyi and Koranteng exchanged the following messages in a group chat that also included Sarfo-Adu, with the other messages set forth below in brackets occurring chronologically in a separate conversation between just SarfoAdu and Yirenkyi:
Yirenkyi: Eugene you ready
For boa
Andrew make the guy send the cheques
Sia he Dey hung so now he needs it
[In a separate conversation, Sarfo-Adu sent Yirenkyi a photograph of four blank checks with Victim 2's account number and listing an address in Brick, New Jersey. The checks were numbered 441, 442, 6885, and 6886.]."
Charged each with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, the trio will likely face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
