Ghana’s former Minister’s son jailed in US for fraud

The son of former Ghanaian Minister Inusah Fuseini was found guilty of fraud in the US and given a two-year jail term.

Abdul Inusah was sentenced on March 23, 2023, following a federal jury’s August 12, 2022 conviction of him on many counts, including receiving stolen property, conspiring to launder money, and two counts of wire fraud.

Local media sites claimed that in addition to his prison sentence, Abdul was also forced to pay $152,000 in reparations and would serve three years of supervised release after his time in prison.

Abdul was a part of a bigger scheme that used fictitious identities to target victims via email, text messages, online dating services, and social media, according to justice.gov, the website of the U.S. Justice Department.

The participants hoped to trick the victims into thinking they were interacting romantically, amicably, or in professional connections with these fictitious personas. Then, the victims were duped into sending money for a variety of fraudulent purposes, earning money for the made-up identities.

United States Attorney Will Thompson commented on the case, saying that Abdul Inusah “may have understood the scope of the criminal conspiracy and that it was exploiting innocent and frequently vulnerable victims more than others involved.” The defendant went so far as to enlist others’ assistance in this deception while attempting to hide his own involvement.

Abdul maintained his denial of involvement throughout the trial, saying that others had exploited his name to carry out the fraudulent actions.

The court, however, did not believe his account, leading to his conviction and subsequent punishment. Inusah Fuseini, Abdul’s father, is a well-known lawyer and politician in Ghana.

He formerly held the job of Minister for Lands and Natural Resources while serving as an MP for the Tamale Central seat.

This incident serves as a reminder of the need to exercise caution while dealing with internet fraud and scams. Authorities continue to advise people to use caution when forming online relationships and to be aware of any demands for money that they get from someone they don’t know.