- The US Justice Department said on 13 October 2026 that a "Joint Disruption Week" produced 28 arrests: 19 in Ghana and nine in Nigeria.
- Meta and other private partners reported removing more than 3.7 million accounts, Pages and Groups, a combined total.
- DOJ cited more than $11M in potentially freezable funds and leads on over 30 suspected scam centres.
- DOJ's list of disrupted schemes does not name romance scams.
The US Justice Department announced on 13 October 2026 that a coordinated "Joint Disruption Week" led to 28 arrests at scam operations in West Africa, 19 in Ghana and nine in Nigeria. According to the release, Meta was central to coordinating the effort, and it and other private partners reported removing more than 3.7 million scam accounts, Pages and Groups. The Epoch Times reported on 28 October that the FBI presents the arrests as part of Operation Blackout.
The romance-fraud label needs care. DOJ lists law enforcement impersonation, digital "arrest" extortion, crypto investment fraud ("pig butchering") and other online fraud. The Epoch Times quoted Matthew Floyd, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI Criminal Division, saying the FBI does not distinguish romance scams from other types.
The DII Take
The platform-and-industry coordination is the real story, and it is a credible template: Meta, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and crypto firms such as Binance and Coinbase all took part. But 28 arrests is modest next to 3.7 million accounts, and DOJ does not break that total down by company. The dating angle is indirect, so operators should read this as a signal on how fraud enforcement is being organised, not as proof of romance-scam results.
What the figures show
In Ghana, DOJ says authorities arrested 19 people in Sasaabi, an Accra suburb, and seized 303 devices. They also identified 117 human trafficking victims and 89 scam victims with approximate losses of $8.3M. In Nigeria, nine arrests and 53 seized devices were reported. DII has also covered Nigerian police arrests over alleged romance and fraud rings.
The $11M is described as potentially freezable, not frozen or recovered.
The $11M is described as potentially freezable, not frozen or recovered.
Disputed credit and what to watch
Sahara Reporters reported that Ghana's Cyber Security Authority disputed accounts that the FBI independently led an earlier October raid. DOJ's own release says Ghanaian agencies led the Ghana operation. The Epoch Times also attributed to FBI Director Kash Patel a claim that Operation Blackout has seized $17 billion; DOJ's release does not contain that figure.
Durability is the open question. Erin West, founder of Operation Shamrock, told The Epoch Times: "Are they gone for good? No." Watch for a company-level breakdown of removals and any frozen-fund totals.
- Meta-coordinated, cross-industry takedowns are emerging as an enforcement model, but DOJ has published no per-company removal figures.
- Compliance teams should not treat these results as romance-fraud data, given DOJ's scheme list and the FBI's stated lack of a romance split.
- Follow-up on frozen funds and the Ghana attribution dispute will show how much of the headline holds.
Sources: Department of Justice Announces Results of Law Enforcement and Private Industry Joint Disruption Week (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs); More Americans Are Falling for Romance Scams. Here's How They Entice You. (The Epoch Times); FBI Announces 28 Arrests In Nigeria, Ghana, Takes Down 3.7 Million Accounts, Pages Over Scams Targeting Americans (Sahara Reporters)