SEC charges Ernest Ossei Boateng and two firms in $16M Ponzi scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging Ernest Ossei Boateng and the New Jersey-based entities Intercontinental Wealth Network LLC and I Wealth Network LP with operating a Ponzi scheme that raised approximately $16 million from more than 200 investors. The alleged conduct spanned from at least January 2020 through at least March 2026.

According to the complaint, Boateng solicited investments in an alleged fund, promising guaranteed fixed returns and a low-risk strategy to primarily Christian investors of Ghanaian heritage in New York and New Jersey. Instead of investing the proceeds as described, the complaint alleges Boateng diverted more than $5.8 million for personal expenses, including the purchase, renovation and furnishing of his home, and used about $6.6 million to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors. The limited amount actually invested was allegedly placed in high-risk, speculative day-trading positions that generated losses exceeding $750,000.

"We allege that the defendants' investors included retirees, taxi drivers, home health care providers, students, an ailing widow with young children, and at least two churches and one prayer group," said Thomas P. Smith, Jr., Associate Director of the SEC's New York Regional Office. "The defendants' sales pitch to victims included assuring them that their investments were safe and without risk - telling many their money was protected by so-called 'financial, investment insurance.' That's as big of a red flag as we see in these types of scams."

The complaint alleges violations of the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with pre-judgment interest, civil penalties against all defendants, and conduct-based injunctions directed at Boateng and Intercontinental Wealth Network LLC.