Abu Trica jury trial scheduled for Feb 8, 2027; Court sets Dec 15 deadline if he wants a plea deal same as Hushpuppi

Frederick Kumi, commonly known as Abu Trica, remains in US federal custody with a new jury trial date scheduled for February 8, 2027. This is following a pre-trial hearing on November 3, 2026, during which the court granted the defence and prosecution additional time to review extensive evidence in the complex fraud case. At the November 3, 2026, pre-trial hearing, the court established several key deadlines leading up to the trial.

Abu Trica has a December 15, 2026, deadline to finalise any potential plea deal agreement. This means if Abu Trica decides to do a plea deal, same as what Hushpuppi did in a similar case, both sides, the defence and the prosecution have until December 15, 2026 to inform the court. The court will hold a final pre-trial conference on January 13, 2027, at 11a.m.

The trial is set to begin on February 8, 2027 at 9am. Read also: ‘I am not guilty’ – Abu Trica denies charges as US court sets September 8 for trial Case overview and charges The prosecutors in the Northern District of Ohio in the United States indicted Abu Trica on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

According to the US Department of Justice, Abu Trica and his co-conspirators allegedly used online dating platforms and AI-driven video tools to assume fake identities. They are accused of defrauding more than 80 elderly US citizens out of over $8 million between April 2023 and November 2025. He was arrested in Ghana in December 2025 in a joint operation involving the Ghana Cyber Security Authority.

He was formally extradited to the United States on July 9, 2026. Related conviction In a connected crackdown, Ghanaian twin brothers Jamal and Kamal Abubakari and US citizen Amanda Joy Opoku-Boachie pleaded guilty in October 2026 to running a separate $9 million international romance scam network. Since new court filings and trial updates are expected ahead of the December plea deadline and February trial, if Abu Trica takes a plea deal, he could get a lesser sentence than the 20 years.

In the similar Ramon Abbas, widely known as Ray HushpuppiHushpuppi case for instance, where he did a plea deal, he was sentenced to 135 months (over 11 years) in a U.S. federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering and cyber-enabled fraud.