The son of Inusah Fuseini, a former NDC MP for Tamale Central, Abdul Inusah, has been sentenced to a two-year prison term in the US, followed by three years of supervised release for romance fraud.
This verdict comes as a result of his involvement in a fraudulent scheme based in Huntington, which targeted individuals across multiple states. The scheme operated by using fake online identities to deceive victims.
After a thorough three-day trial, a federal jury reached a verdict on Thursday, March 23, 2023, concluding that Abdul Inusah, was part of a conspiracy aimed at defrauding victims through the manipulation of false personas on email, text messaging, online dating websites, and social media platforms.
Between January 2018 and December 2019, the participants in the romance fraud used these fabricated personas to deceive victims into believing they were engaged in romantic relationships, friendships, or business partnerships.
Under false pretences, the victims were convinced to send money for various fabricated reasons, solely benefiting the fake identities.
As part of his sentencing, Inusah has been ordered to pay restitution of US$128,000. This financial penalty serves to compensate the victims for their losses and damages incurred during the course of this fraudulent operation.
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 non-existent 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 federal jury found Inusah guilty of receipt of stolen money, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of wire fraud on 12 August, 2022.
“Perhaps more than others involved, Abdul Inusah understood the scope of the criminal conspiracy and that it was exploiting innocent and often vulnerable victims,” said United States Attorney Will Thompson. “The defendant even recruited others to help commit this fraud, while taking steps to conceal his own involvement.”
U.S. Attorney Thompson made the announcement and commended 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 Attorney Kathleen Robeson and former Assistant United States Attorney R. Gregory McVey and the trial team for prosecuting the case and securing the guilty verdicts,” Thompson said.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.
