SEC charges New Jersey man over alleged $16 million Ponzi scheme aimed at Ghanaian-American churchgoers

The Securities and Exchange Commission on September 10 charged Ernest Ossei Boateng and two companies he controls — Intercontinental Wealth Network LLC and I Wealth Network LP, both New Jersey-based — with running an alleged Ponzi scheme that raised about $16 million from more than 200 investors between at least January 2020 and at least March 2026, according to the agency's press release and complaint.

The SEC says Boateng sold interests in a purported investment fund, pitching guaranteed fixed returns and a low-risk strategy, and primarily targeted Christians of Ghanaian heritage in New York and New Jersey — many with no prior investing experience. Per the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the money did not go where investors were told.

The agency alleges Boateng misappropriated more than $5.8 million for personal expenses, including buying, renovating and furnishing his home, and used roughly $6.6 million to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors. To the limited extent he did invest, the SEC says, he abandoned the promised low-risk approach for high-risk speculative day trading that lost more than $750,000.

Thomas P. Smith, Jr., Associate Director of the SEC's New York Regional Office, said the alleged 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." He singled out the sales pitch — assurances that the money was protected by so-called "financial, investment insurance" — as "as big of a red flag as we see in these types of scams."

The complaint charges all three defendants under the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and charges Boateng and Intercontinental under the antifraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement with pre-judgment interest, civil penalties, and conduct-based injunctions against Boateng and Intercontinental.

Key facts

• ~$16 million allegedly raised from 200-plus investors, January 2020–March 2026 (SEC press release, Sept. 10, 2026).
• More than $5.8 million allegedly misappropriated for personal use; ~$6.6 million allegedly paid to earlier investors as Ponzi-like returns (SEC complaint).
• More than $750,000 in trading losses from speculative day trading (SEC complaint).
• Charged in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, under the 1933, 1934 and 1940 Acts (SEC).

The real-world read

These are allegations, not findings — the SEC has filed a civil complaint, and none of it has been tested in court. Note the classic markers the agency itself flags: "guaranteed" fixed returns, a "low-risk" label, and invented "financial, investment insurance," none of which exist in the way pitched. The insurance claim in particular is the tell — there is no such product protecting a private fund from loss. Also worth stating plainly: despite the setting, this is a conventional affinity-fraud case, not a crypto one. Nothing in the filing mentions tokens, digital assets or an exchange, and no promotional or sponsored material is involved.

Opinion, and whose

The only characterization on record is the SEC's: Smith called the "insurance" assurance "as big of a red flag as we see in these types of scams." Boateng has not, as of filing, entered a public response, and the complaint's allegations remain to be proven.

Sources

• SEC, Press Release 2026-86 and linked complaint (Sept. 10, 2026) — primary source for all charges, dollar figures, defendant names, the victim profile, the Smith quote, and the statutes cited. Government enforcement announcement; not marketing.

This is news reporting, not financial or legal advice. The charges are allegations that have not been proven in court.