British woman dies in Ghana while chasing scammers

What happened: A British woman, Janet Fordham, died in a road crash in Ghana in February 2023 while trying to recover money she believed had been taken from her by romance fraudsters, an inquest in Exeter, UK, heard.

The inquest said Fordham, 69, had been defrauded over five years of an estimated £800,000 to £1 million. The hearing was told she lost her life savings and her home after engaging with scammers said to be operating from multiple countries, including the UK, Germany, the US, and Ghana.

According to evidence presented, Fordham travelled to Accra in October 2022 after being contacted by a man identified as Kofi. He told her he could help retrieve the money she had lost. The inquest heard that Fordham had first been drawn into a scam involving a man posing as a British army sergeant major, and later dealt with another person claiming to be a diplomat.

Family members and police warned Fordham about the fraud, the inquest was told. Despite those warnings, she continued communicating with the people involved. The hearing said she was considered to be of sound mind.

On Valentine’s Day 2023, Fordham was travelling as a passenger in a car driven by Kofi when it crashed. The inquest heard she suffered a fatal head injury and was not wearing a seatbelt.

Devon and Cornwall police concluded that no third party was involved in the collision. The inquest heard that Kofi admitted to a driving offence. Senior coroner Philip Spinney said there were inconsistencies in the evidence about the crash, but he concluded Fordham died from injuries sustained in the collision.

What it means: The case highlights the cross-border nature of romance fraud and the practical difficulties victims can face when money is transferred across jurisdictions. With alleged activity spanning the UK, Germany, the US, and Ghana, the inquest record underscores how scams can involve contacts and claims that move victims toward further financial loss and, in this instance, travel abroad.

For policymakers and law enforcement, the facts presented at the inquest point to the challenges of prevention when victims continue engagement despite warnings, and to the limits of domestic policing when key interactions and events occur overseas.

For markets and the financial system, the scale of the reported losses—up to £1 million—illustrates the potential personal financial impact of fraud and the importance of safeguards around transfers and consumer protection, even though the inquest focused on the circumstances of Fordham’s death rather than financial recovery.

Uncertainties remain within the record as described by the coroner, who noted inconsistencies in the evidence relating to the crash. However, the formal conclusion reported to the inquest was that Fordham’s death resulted from injuries in the collision, with police finding no third-party involvement.