Former Roads and Highways Minister, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini has disclosed that he is terribly disappointed over the conviction of his son in the USA for money laundering and fraud.
The former lawmaker for Tamale South who confirmed the boy at the centre of the fraud is his son on Accra-based Asaase Radio explained “As a father, my son told me that one of his colleague students wanted a car and he has documents that allow him to auction vehicle and it turns out the colleague student was involved in a romance fraud,” the former legislator said.
31-year-old Abdul Inusah has been found guilty of Fraud and Money Laundering in a Southern District of West Virginia of the United States of America.
He faces up to 50 years jail term for colluding with others and defrauding individuals in multiple states through the use of false online personas.
Evidence at trial according to US Department of Justice, 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 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 $106,000 via wire transfers and cashier’s checks. The amount included $48,000 to pay overdue taxes on a nonexistent 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 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.
“It is truly heartbreaking how this conspiracy exploited individuals who were particularly vulnerable, such as following the death of a longtime spouse,” said the 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 November 21, 2022,