A son of a former Minister of Lands and Natural Resouecs, Inusah Fuseini is facing 50 years jail term in the United States.
The 31-year-old man has been charged with fraud and money laundering.
According to a statement from the US Department of Justice, his sentence was deffered to November 21, 2022, as he faces a maximum penalty of 50-years.
He was convicted by a federal jury after three days of trial for “his role in a Huntington-based scheme that defrauded individuals in multiple states through the use of false online personas”.
”The amount included $48,000 to pay overdue taxes on a non-existent gold inheritance in Ghana and $21,000 wired to Bitsav Supply LLC, a shell company set up by Inusah. Another false persona, ‘Grace’, persuaded a Washington resident to wire funds so ‘Grace’ could maintain her South African cocoa plantation and move to the United States to marry the victim. Other victims of the false personas included residents of Ohio and Florida,“ the DoJ statement said.
The Department of Justice statement further added that the jury found Inusah guilty of receipt of stolen money, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of wire fraud. The wire fraud counts involve a pair of $2,000 Zelle wire transfers to Inusah from the money obtained using the ‘Miarama’ false persona in January 2019.
But in an interview with asaaseradio.com, the former MP confirmed the news but said it was a conspiracy.
Fuseini said his son’s documents were used to perpetrate a crime, resulting in the charges.
“As a father, my son told me that one of his colleague students wanted a car and he has documents that allows him to auction vehicles, and it turns out the colleague student was involved in a romance fraud,” the former MP said.
He said he is “terribly disappointed” about the development.
Below is the full statement from the US Department of Justice:
After three days of trial, a federal jury convicted Abdul Inusah, 31, of Ghana, for his role in a Huntington-based scheme that defrauded individuals in multiple states through the use of false online personas.
Evidence at trial revealed that Inusah was part of a conspiracy that targeted victims using false personas via email, text messaging, and online dating and social media websites.
From at least January 2018 through at least December 2019, the scheme sought to induce victims into believing they were in a romantic relationship, friendship, or business relationship with the various false personas. The victims were persuaded to send money for a variety of false and fraudulent reasons for the benefit of the false personas.
One false persona, “Miarama”, was used to induce an Alabama resident into providing US$106,000 via wire transfers and cashier’s checks.
The amount included US$48,000 to pay overdue taxes on a nonexistent gold inheritance in Ghana and US$21,000 wired to Bitsav Supply LLC, a shell company set up by Inusah. Another false persona, “Grace”, persuaded a Washington resident to wire funds so “Grace” could maintain her South African cocoa plantation and move to the United States to marry the victim. Other victims of the false personas included residents of Ohio and Florida.
The jury found Inusah guilty of receipt of stolen money, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of wire fraud. The wire fraud counts involve a pair of US$2,000 Zelle wire transfers to Inusah from the money obtained using the “Miarama” false persona in January 2019.
“It is truly heartbreaking how this conspiracy exploited individuals who were particularly vulnerable, such as following the death of a long-time spouse,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson. “Some of the victims did not recognize themselves as victims, and continued to believe these false personas were real and that they were in actual relationships.
“I commend the investigative work of the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), the West Virginia State Police and the South Charleston Police Department. I also commend Assistant United States Attorneys Kathleen Robeson and R Gregory McVey and our trial team for trying this complex fraud case before the jury.”
United States District Judge Robert C Chambers presided over the jury trial.
Inusah is scheduled to be sentenced on 21 November 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison.
By Vincent Kubi