On Friday, a federal jury found an Ohio man guilty of fraud after he pretended to be a Ghanaian prince and defrauded at least 14 people out of more than $800,000 over several years.
Daryl Robert Harrison was convicted of mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and witness tampering. When he is sentenced, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
The Justice Department said in a statement that Harrison and his stepfather, who is still awaiting trial, claimed to be ministers with Power House of Prayer Ministries, a group that financially supported “religious services in various church facilities and private residences” in Ohio and Colorado.
According to the statement, Harrison misled investors, many of whom were church members, into believing he was a prince from Ghana with connections to African mining and trucking companies. According to the DOJ, he told investors that they could expect a 33% return on their investments in those companies.
Prosecutors claim that Harrison and his stepfather spent the money on personal expenses such as renting a house in Colorado and buying luxury cars.
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In their 2020 indictment, federal prosecutors claimed that Harrison and his stepfather sought to “unjustly enrich themselves and PHOP by soliciting monies from investors under false and fraudulent pretences, representations, and promises, and converting those monies for defendants’ personal benefit and the benefit of PHOP without the knowledge of the investors.”
An Ohio man who pretended to be a Ghanaian prince and conned at least 14 people out of more than $800,000 over several years was convicted by a federal jury of fraud on Friday https://t.co/W7B20kyh6f
— CNN (@CNN) September 20, 2022
After soliciting funds, Harrison “failed to provide investors with interest payments, routinely terminated all communications with investors, ignored individual investor inquiries, and ignored demands from investors seeking the return of investment monies,” according to the indictment.
CNN has contacted Harrison’s attorney. A lawyer for Harrison’s stepfather declined to comment on the conviction on Monday and denied that his client was involved in the scam.
Source: CNN
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