{"investigation":{"slug":"ernest-ossei-boateng-intercontinental-wealth-network-llc-i-wealth-network-lp","entity_name":"Ernest Ossei Boateng / Intercontinental Wealth Network LLC / I Wealth Network LP","trust_score":26,"severity_base":26,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.91,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Ernest Ossei Boateng, a New Jersey man, and two companies he controls, Intercontinental Wealth Network LLC and I Wealth Network LP, were charged by the SEC in September 2026 with operating an alleged $16 million Ponzi scheme from January 2020 to March 2026 that primarily targeted Christians of Ghanaian heritage in New York and New Jersey. The SEC's civil complaint, filed in the Eastern District of New York, alleges Boateng promised guaranteed, low-risk fixed returns while misappropriating millions for personal use and using new investor funds to pay earlier investors. These are allegations in an active civil case; no court has yet ruled on their merits.","sections":[{"content":"On September 10, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint (Case No. 26-cv-5605) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Ernest Ossei Boateng, Intercontinental Wealth Network LLC, and I Wealth Network LP, both New Jersey-based companies the SEC says Boateng controls. The SEC alleges the defendants solicited, recommended, and sold interests in an investment fund (referred to in press coverage as the \"I-Fund\") as part of a Ponzi scheme that ran from at least January 2020 until at least March 2026. The complaint alleges violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder against all three defendants, and violations of Sections 206(1), 206(2), and 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 against Boateng and Intercontinental Wealth Network. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions (including conduct-based injunctions against Boateng and Intercontinental), disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and civil monetary penalties. As of the most recent reporting found, the case remained in early litigation with no reported ruling, settlement, or asset freeze order.","heading":"SEC Civil Fraud Complaint","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26639","name":"SEC Litigation Release No. 26639 — SEC v. Ernest Ossei Boateng, et al.","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2026/comp26639.pdf","name":"SEC v. Boateng complaint (PDF)","type":"court_filing","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.law360.com/newjersey/articles/2523980","name":"Law360 — SEC Says $16M Ponzi Scheme Targeted Ghanaian Community","type":"news_article","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.wealthmanagement.com/regulation-compliance/new-jersey-man-charged-in-16m-ponzi-scheme","name":"WealthManagement.com — SEC Claims NJ Man Orchestrated $16M Ponzi Scheme Targeting Ghanaian Community","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"The SEC alleges Boateng primarily marketed the fund to Christians of Ghanaian heritage in New York and New Jersey, many of whom had no prior investing experience, by presenting at churches and a prayer group and leveraging shared religious, social, and community ties. According to the complaint as reported by InvestmentNews, Boateng told prospective investors he was offering the fund \"to demonstrate that God provided wealth to believers.\" The SEC's New York Regional Office said 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. Associate Director Thomas Smith was quoted saying the scale and nature of the targeting was \"as big of a red flag as we see in these types of scams.\" This pattern is consistent with what the SEC's investor-education arm (Investor.gov) describes as classic affinity fraud, in which perpetrators pose as members of a tight-knit group, often enlisting trusted community or religious figures, to gain victims' confidence.","heading":"Alleged Affinity Fraud Targeting the Ghanaian Christian Community","sources":[{"url":"https://www.investmentnews.com/regulation-legal-compliance/sec-charges-wannabe-nj-broker-in-affinity-fraud-case-targeting-christians-from-ghana/268181","name":"InvestmentNews — SEC charges wannabe N.J. broker in affinity fraud case targeting Christians from Ghana","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.wealthmanagement.com/regulation-compliance/new-jersey-man-charged-in-16m-ponzi-scheme","name":"WealthManagement.com — SEC Claims NJ Man Orchestrated $16M Ponzi Scheme Targeting Ghanaian Community","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26639","name":"SEC Litigation Release No. 26639","type":"regulatory","credibility":1}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"The SEC alleges that of the approximately $16 million raised from more than 200 investors, Boateng misappropriated more than $5.8 million for personal expenses, including purchasing, renovating, and furnishing his home. The complaint further alleges that approximately $6.6 million was used to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors, and that Boateng engaged in high-risk, speculative day trading with investor funds that caused more than $750,000 in trading losses, despite having promised investors a low-risk strategy with guaranteed fixed returns. Press coverage citing the complaint reports that Boateng promised a 25% compounding annual return, telling investors that $24,000 could grow to $1 million within a decade. When scheduled returns were not paid, he allegedly blamed the delay on the SEC holding the funds or on a change in tax law — claims the SEC says were false. The complaint also alleges Boateng created fabricated account statements, including one bearing the logo of an unnamed SEC-registered brokerage, and encouraged some investors to fund their investments through bank loans, credit card cash advances, or early retirement-account withdrawals, often incurring penalties.","heading":"Alleged Misuse of Investor Funds and Fabricated Statements","sources":[{"url":"https://www.investmentnews.com/regulation-legal-compliance/sec-charges-wannabe-nj-broker-in-affinity-fraud-case-targeting-christians-from-ghana/268181","name":"InvestmentNews — SEC charges wannabe N.J. broker in affinity fraud case targeting Christians from Ghana","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.wealthmanagement.com/regulation-compliance/new-jersey-man-charged-in-16m-ponzi-scheme","name":"WealthManagement.com — SEC Claims NJ Man Orchestrated $16M Ponzi Scheme Targeting Ghanaian Community","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26639","name":"SEC Litigation Release No. 26639","type":"regulatory","credibility":1}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"According to press reports citing the SEC, Boateng has never been registered with the SEC, FINRA, or any state securities regulator, and holds no professional FINRA licenses. He reportedly failed the Series 6 (investment company/variable contracts products) and Series 63 (state law) licensing exams in 2016. He is reported to have immigrated to the United States from Ghana around 2016. During the SEC's investigation, Boateng is reported to have declined to answer investigators' questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He could not be reached for comment by at least one outlet at the time of the charges.","heading":"Registration Status and Investigative Conduct","sources":[{"url":"https://www.investmentnews.com/regulation-legal-compliance/sec-charges-wannabe-nj-broker-in-affinity-fraud-case-targeting-christians-from-ghana/268181","name":"InvestmentNews — SEC charges wannabe N.J. broker in affinity fraud case targeting Christians from Ghana","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.wealthmanagement.com/regulation-compliance/new-jersey-man-charged-in-16m-ponzi-scheme","name":"WealthManagement.com — SEC Claims NJ Man Orchestrated $16M Ponzi Scheme Targeting Ghanaian Community","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"All allegations described above derive from the SEC's civil complaint filed September 10, 2026, and from subsequent press coverage of that filing. As of the most recent reporting available, no court has issued a ruling on the merits, no settlement has been reported, and no criminal charges have been identified in available sources. The defendants' response to the complaint, if any, was not found in available reporting. These remain unproven allegations in ongoing civil litigation, and should be read as such.","heading":"Legal Status of Allegations","sources":[{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26639","name":"SEC Litigation Release No. 26639","type":"regulatory","credibility":1},{"url":"https://www.law360.com/newjersey/articles/2523980","name":"Law360 — SEC Says $16M Ponzi Scheme Targeted Ghanaian Community","type":"news_article","credibility":1}],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2020-01","event":"SEC alleges the Ponzi scheme began no later than this point, with Boateng soliciting and selling interests in an investment fund to investors.","source":"SEC Litigation Release No. 26639","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26639"},{"date":"2026-03","event":"SEC alleges the scheme continued until at least this point.","source":"SEC Litigation Release No. 26639","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26639"},{"date":"2026-09-10","event":"SEC filed its civil complaint against Ernest Ossei Boateng, Intercontinental Wealth Network LLC, and I Wealth Network LP in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Case No. 26-cv-5605).","source":"SEC Litigation Release No. 26639","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26639","date_evidence":"filed Sept. 10, 2026"},{"date":"2026-09","event":"Law360 and InvestmentNews published reports on the SEC's complaint.","source":"Law360","source_url":"https://www.law360.com/newjersey/articles/2523980","date_original":"2026-09-11"},{"date":"2026-09","event":"SEC published Litigation Release No. 26639 summarizing the complaint and charges.","source":"SEC Litigation Release No. 26639","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26639","date_original":"2026-09-14"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26639","name":"SEC Litigation Release No. 26639 — SEC v. 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