In an apparent case of affinity fraud, the Securities and Exchange Commission last week charged Ernest Ossei Boateng and two New Jersey-based companies he controls, Intercontinental Wealth Network and I Wealth Network, for allegedly raising approximately $16 million from more than 200 inexperienced investors through a Ponzi scheme he operated from at least January 2020 until at least March 2026.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Boateng, acting through his two companies, solicited, recommended, and sold interests in an alleged investment fund, primarily targeting Christians of Ghanaian heritage in New York and New Jersey, many of whom had no prior investing experience.
According to the SEC, Boateng’s victims included retirees, taxi drivers, home health care providers, students, an ailing widow with young children, and at least two churches and one prayer group.
Boateng, 44, of Pittstown, N.J., has tried but failed to work in the securities industry, according to the SEC’s complaint.
Although he has never been registered with the SEC, FINRA or a state, in 2016 Boateng failed both the Series 6 exam, which allows a broker to sell mutual funds and variable annuities, as well as the Series 63, a state level license.
Boateng is originally from Ghana and immigrated to the U.S. in approximately 2016 and was part of a group of Christians of Ghanaian heritage who reside in New York and New Jersey, according to the SEC.
Affinity fraud refers to investment scams that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the elderly, or professional groups, according to the website investor.gov.
“The fraudsters who promote affinity scams frequently are - or pretend to be - members of the group,” according to the website. “They often enlist respected community or religious leaders from within the group to spread the word about the scheme, by convincing those people that a fraudulent investment is legitimate and worthwhile.”
The SEC’s complaint, filed last Thursday in New York’s Eastern District, alleges that “Boateng told investors that their investments would generate guaranteed fixed returns and that the investment fund would pursue a low-risk investment strategy.”
“Rather than investing the money as promised, however, Boateng allegedly misappropriated more than $5.8 million for his personal expenses, including the purchase, renovation, and furnishing of his home,” according to the SEC’s charges. “Boateng also allegedly used approximately $6.6 million to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors.”
The complaint further alleges that, to the limited extent Boateng did invest the money, he failed to do so in low-risk investments with fixed returns.
Instead, according to the complaint, Boateng used investor money to engage in high-risk, speculative day trading, leading to more than $750,000 in trading losses.
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