Benjamin Pinewood
US prosecutors have accused Asante Akyem North MP Ohene Kwame Frimpong, popularly known as OK Frimpong, of helping to move more than $2 million allegedly obtained through romance scams through bank accounts and shell companies in Chicago.
The allegations are contained in US court filings forming part of an 18-count federal indictment against Frimpong and alleged co-conspirators, including Shadrack Yaw Gyasi and Martin Misinu.
According to the court documents, the alleged scheme dates back to 2019 and involved six victims, identified as Victims A through F. Prosecutors allege that the victims were targeted through fabricated online romantic relationships and persuaded to send money based on false stories involving gold, diamonds, inheritances, taxes and transfer fees.
The FBI reportedly began investigating Frimpong in 2019, with the investigation eventually leading to the federal indictment, which includes allegations of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.
One of the accounts identified by prosecutors was allegedly opened by Frimpong on July 21, 2020, at GLCU in the name of New Grace Restaurants, a Chicago restaurant he had inherited from his parents.
Court documents allege that on August 26, 2020, Frimpong and Gyasi caused Victim C to transfer $515,000 in alleged fraud proceeds into the account.
Prosecutors further allege that Frimpong and another alleged co-conspirator, identified as “FA”, opened an account at USB in the name of Grace Restaurants Ltd, an Illinois-registered company.
The indictment alleges that on December 4, 2020, Victim F transferred $480,612 into the account. Five days later, Frimpong and FA allegedly travelled to Chicago from outside the United States.
The following day, prosecutors say, $200,026.85 and $200,031.15 were transferred from the account to business bank accounts in China and India.
The indictment also details transactions involving Victim C, who prosecutors allege was defrauded of more than $2 million between July 2019 and April 2022.
According to the filings, the alleged scheme involved someone posing as a romantic partner named “Juliana Alina”, who claimed that her father had owned a gold mine in Johannesburg and left her gold bars that needed to be sold.
Prosecutors allege that on February 10, 2021, Frimpong travelled to Chicago with another alleged co-conspirator, identified as “NF”.
NF allegedly opened a Chase Bank account and three other accounts connected to the scheme.
Victim C allegedly transferred $250,000 on February 25, 2021, followed by another $250,000 on March 3, 2021, into the Chase account.
The indictment further alleges that Frimpong later directed NF to withdraw $30,000 in cash and purchase Apple products as gifts. Among the alleged purchases was an iPhone for Gyasi, with $5,875.20 reportedly spent at a Best Buy store using a card linked to the account.
Prosecutors say Victim A was targeted through a similar arrangement.
In March 2021, Frimpong allegedly travelled to Chicago with another co-conspirator identified as “CA”. Prosecutors say CA opened Chase Bank accounts in the name of AJ Plums LLC, which they describe as a shell entity.
Victim A allegedly transferred $250,000 in April 2021 and another $250,000 in May 2021, with portions of the funds subsequently moved between accounts.
The indictment also describes alleged transactions involving Victims D and E in 2022.
According to prosecutors, a co-conspirator identified as “MFN” travelled from the Netherlands to Chicago in November 2021 and opened accounts at BMO Harris Bank and Bank of America in the name of Allsop LLC.
Between March and April 2022, the two victims allegedly transferred a combined $663,929 into those accounts.
Prosecutors allege that Frimpong later directed MFN to transfer $167,210 to a Ghanaian bank account he controlled.
The filings also allege that MFN falsely told a Bank of America branch that Victim D was her stepfather in an attempt to have a frozen account released.
The court documents say the alleged romance scams relied heavily on elaborate inheritance stories.
In Victim F’s case, prosecutors allege that the persona “Hannah Garvey” claimed she was moving from New York to London because of a $40 million to $50 million inheritance in gold and diamonds that required upfront payments.
The alleged story involving Victim C centred on the purported inheritance of gold from a South African gold mine.
Frimpong has denied the romance-scam allegations. His lawyer previously said that the legal process involved a US extradition request, while Frimpong has maintained that he was informed of a money-laundering allegation when he was detained.
He was detained at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam in May 2026 under a US extradition request and is challenging the proceedings in the Netherlands. Ghana’s Parliament confirmed his detention at the time, while his lawyers maintained that he remained innocent.
The latest allegations come from US court filings and remain allegations. Frimpong is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. The case remains pending.
