US jails Ghanaian woman over $1.6m online romance fraud

A Ghanaian woman living in the United States has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for her role in a romance scam that defrauded victims of more than $1.6m (£1.2m).

Nana Takyiwa Adonu, 43, of Odenton, Maryland, was sentenced to 70 months in prison on 22 July by a federal court in the Southern District of Iowa after prosecutors said she helped launder money obtained through an online dating fraud scheme.

Court documents said the conspiracy involved fraudsters creating fake profiles on dating websites and social media to build romantic relationships with victims before persuading them to send large sums of money.

Prosecutors said Adonu managed the proceeds through Han-Dak LLC, which they described as a shell company used to receive money from victims across the US.

Investigators said many victims lost their life savings after being convinced they were helping a romantic partner. Some emptied retirement accounts, sold homes and vehicles, returned to work after retirement or borrowed heavily from relatives and friends. One victim in Iowa lost more than $55,000, according to court records.

Authorities said Adonu also attempted to obstruct the FBI investigation by falsely claiming Han-Dak LLC was a legitimate garment manufacturing business in China. She later submitted what prosecutors described as fake invoices and customer records in response to a federal grand jury subpoena.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered Adonu to pay $1,655,640.76 in restitution and imposed three years of supervised release after her release from prison.

Her co-defendant, Naabanyin Aniagyei-Cobbold, was sentenced in March 2026 to 108 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.5m in restitution.

"Romance scammers exploit victims when they are at their most vulnerable," said Eugene Kowel, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Omaha Field Office.

"They prey on innocent people by convincing them a relationship is real, then slowly abuse that trust to steal their life savings. This case is an egregious example of the ruthless persistence exhibited by scammers who enrich themselves at the expense of vulnerable people."