After news of his alleged involvement in money laundering and wire fraud in the United States of America surfaced, Abdul Inusah, the son of former minister of Lands and Natural Resources and former MP for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, broke his silence.
In response to the reports, troubled Abdul Inusah confirmed his father’s reasons in an interview with Asaase Radio.
He claims that he was given information about the indictment that connected him to several charges.
He received the indictment by text message in June of the same year, despite it having been filed on April 27.
He recalled that after this, he got in touch with his attorneys, who took it up, and the matter moved forward. In relation to the alleged money, he was charged with receiving stolen property and wire fraud totaling $20,000.
“I received a number of plea agreements. Because you can only accept plea bargains if you have committed a crime, I declined them. Once they realized that I had purchased a number of their automobiles somewhere in 2018 while a student at the same university as they were, and that this was in a different indictment, they had already detained nine people who were somehow connected to me.
“The only reason why I was not involved in that particular indictment was that there was nothing linking me to those people.
“I decided to opt for a trial. I was superseded 3 times to where the count now became 8. I have seen 50 years, but I was offered a plea deal of 6 months jail time, but I still refused until it got to somewhere this month. We went for trial, which lasted for 4 or 5 days till the Jury came out with somewhat of a verdict pronouncing me not guilty for 3 to 4 charges of those counts and 4 charges they thought I was guilty of on those other counts.
“From there, obviously, the justice department would have come out with a communique talking about what happened in court during the trial. It was those that the Ghanaian media fetched its reports from,” he noted.
Abdul Inusah asserted his innocence while expressing worry about how publications containing what he refers to as “half-truths” may have impacted his family and friends.
He thinks that he will be released soon and that the case has some bias behind it.
“…As to conviction or jail sentence or jail time, there’s nothing of the sort because there is still a chance for me to talk to the government as to whether I still want to pursue the case from different angles or just have a man-man talk with them with respect to giving them some information for lesser sentences. I and my lawyers are still pursuing the case because we believe I’m innocent and this is just one of those prejudiced cases that they must find a prosecution at all cost,” he noted.
“My utmost worry right now is not fighting my case or proving my innocence to the Ghanaian public,” Inusah said. “My very utmost problem right now will be my family and friends who have been affected by these half-truth publications, with the utmost respect because I don’t want to discredit anybody’s work,” he said.
He continued by saying that since he is innocent, his family should maintain their faith and that he will soon be set free.
Inusah expressed optimism to Asaaseradio.com, saying, “But these are half-truths, and people’s lives in Ghana are being affected, especially my family and loved ones. I would like to apologize to them and encourage them to take heart and keep believing that their brother and son is innocent and will soon be a free man. We will rejoice and jubilate with the people of Ghana.”
Inusah Fuseini, a former minister for lands and natural resources and a member of parliament for Tamale Central, has also commented on this event.
The former MP attempted to provide a detailed account of the events leading up to the incident and described the development as horrible.
Inusah Fuseini revealed that although his colleague had asked his son’s documents for a transaction, it turned out that he had actually utilized them for romantic fraud.
The former lawmaker told Asaase radio com, “As a father, my son told me that one of his coworkers wanted a car, and he has documents that allow him to auction automobiles, and it turns out the colleague was participating in a romantic fraud.
Abdul Inusah clarified, however, that contrary to what certain media outlets have claimed, he has not been imprisoned. The investigation is still ongoing, and he is now at home.
Background of the case
31-year-old Abdul Inusah was arrested for his role in a Huntington-based scheme that defrauded individuals in multiple states through the use of false online personas.
A statement from the United States Department of Justice explained that 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 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 instance was when one false persona, “Mariama,” 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.
United States Attorney, Will Thompson, described the activities as heart-breaking as vulnerable individuals were targeted.
The United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the Jury.
Abdul Inusah has been scheduled to be sentenced on November 21, 2022, and will face a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison.