Fraud case: 'I’m innocent' – Inusah Fuseini’s son laments pain family, friends face

Mr Abdul Inusah has said all the publications about him in connection to fraud and money laundering that have landed him in the grips of US laws, for which he is facing a maximum of 50 years in jail, are half-truths.

The 31-year-old US-based son of former Ghanaian lawmaker Inusah Fuseini, said the allegations are having a toll on his family and friends but said he will soon be a free man.

“My utmost worry, right now, is not fighting my case or proving my innocence to the Ghanaian public,” Mr Inusah told Accra-based Asaase Radio on Thursday, 25 August 2022, explaining: “My very utmost problem right now will be my family and friends who have been affected by these half-truth publications, with utmost respect, because I don’t want to discredit anybody’s work.”

“But these are half-truths, and people’s lives in Ghana are being affected, especially my family and loved ones, and I would like to apologise to them that they should take heart and keep having faith that their brother and son is innocent and will soon be a free man and we will rejoice and jubilate with the people of Ghana,” he added.

Abdul’s father had earlier indicated that his son had been hard done by, by a colleague.

“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 vehicles, and it turns out the colleague student was involved in a romance fraud,” the former lawmaker said, and noted that he was “terribly disappointed”.

A statement from the US Department of Justice, after three days of trial, a federal jury convicted Abdul Inusah 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 Department of Justice said 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 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 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 longtime 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 November 21, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison.

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