Ghanaian social media influencer Idris Firdaus, popularly known as Abu Trica, has been arrested in connection with a massive $8 million investment scam.

The scheme, which centered around a mobile app called Hordle, promised investors unusually high returns through a supposedly revolutionary Artificial Intelligence (AI) trading bot.

Hordle was marketed as a fintech app that used a sophisticated AI to trade in foreign exchange (Forex) and cryptocurrency on behalf of its users.

guaranteed investors significant daily or weekly profits, promoting the idea of effortless, passive income. This is a classic hallmark of a Ponzi s

The app was not using any advanced AI technology. Instead, it operated as a classic Ponzi scheme, where money from new investors was used to pay “profits” to earlier investors to create the illusion of a legitimate and successful business.

The Scale: The scam defrauded more than 2,000 people out of over $8 million (approximately 95 million Ghanaian Cedis). Many victims lost their life savings.

As a well-known influencer with a large following, he used his credibility to convince his fans and followers that Hordle was a legitimate and profitable opportunity.

Scammers are increasingly using the term “AI” to make their fraudulent schemes sound sophisticated, modern, and credible, preying on public hype and a lack of technical understanding.