A man from Williston, North Dakota, has been sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay restitution after pleading guilty to his role in a money laundering conspiracy tied to a romance scam that targeted victims in the Eastern District of Texas. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Daniel Boadu, 36, received a sentence of 54 months in federal prison from U.S. District Judge Michael J. Truncale on August 29, 2025. He was also ordered to pay $4.7 million in restitution.
Court records show that between August 2015 and February 2021, Boadu worked with others to carry out what is commonly known as a romance scam. In this type of scheme, individuals create fake profiles on dating websites to attract victims seeking companionship or romantic relationships across the United States and other countries. After establishing contact online, scammers use email, instant messaging, text messaging, smartphone apps, and phone calls to build trust with their targets.
Once trust is established, the perpetrators persuade victims to send money for various fabricated reasons. The funds are then deposited into bank accounts within the United States held by people involved in the scheme. These account holders transfer the fraudulently obtained money onward—often keeping part of it for themselves—and facilitate further movement of funds as part of the conspiracy. According to court documents, Boadu acted as one such account holder.
“This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anand Varadarajan.”
