The court fight Frederick Kumi, popularly known as Abu Trica, was hoping would keep him in Ghana has taken a sharp turn against him.
On Thursday, an Accra High Court dismissed his application to block his extradition to the United States, green-lighting the transfer of the Ghanaian socialite to face criminal charges in America. The ruling came while his own lawyer, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, was outside the country. He found out the way most Ghanaians did, through a message. “I just heard that the case of Abu Trica has been fast-tracked, and a judge has just ordered his extradition,” he wrote on Facebook. He added the score in the way only a lawyer steeped in the drama of the case could. “FBI 1 – Abu 1.”
But Barker-Vormawor made clear this is not over. The case, he says, is heading to the Supreme Court. Abu Trica’s legal team had earlier filed a certiorari application in May to quash a ruling by the Gbese District Court, which had authorised the extradition. That effort has now failed at the High Court level. The next battle will be fought at the highest court in the land.
The Americans want Abu Trica badly. US prosecutors from the Northern District of Ohio allege he was a central figure in a criminal network that ran romance scams targeting elderly Americans since 2023. According to unsealed indictment documents, the network used artificial intelligence software to create fake identities, then used social media and dating platforms to build intimate relationships with senior citizens. Once trust was established, victims were asked for money under urgent pretenses, medical bills, travel costs, investment opportunities. The total defrauded from elderly victims amounts to more than $8 million.
After the money was sent, prosecutors allege Abu Trica helped move the funds from Ohio to co-conspirators in Ghana and elsewhere. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and a forfeiture specification. A conviction could put him behind bars for up to 20 years.
He joins a growing list of Ghanaian public figures caught in the web of US extradition proceedings, alongside names like Hajia4Reall, Kofi Boat and Dada Joe. Whether Abu Trica ultimately boards a flight to America depends on what the Supreme Court decides next.
