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Google PlayA man in Ohio was convicted on Friday after swindling 14 people out of more than $800,000 as part of a six-year operation where he claimed to be a Ghanaian prince.
A press release from the Justice Department explains Daryl Robert Harrison, 44, pretended to be Prince Daryl R. Attipoe and Prophet Daryl R. Attipoe. He sought investors for alleged African mining and trucking companies he was supposedly associated with. In the scheme, which lasted from January 2014 until September 2020, Harrison claimed to have direct connections with these businesses, boasting that an investment could result in a 28 to 33 percent return.
According to the DOJ release, Harrison and his stepfather claimed to be ministers from the Power House of Prayer Ministries, which “sponsored religious services in various church facilities and private residences” in Ohio and Colorado. A majority of the victims were from this congregation.
Prosecutors said the two went on to put that money toward luxury cars and airplane tickets, and to rent a house in Colorado. CNN notes the 2020 indictment alleges Harrison and his stepfather withdrew the cash and then “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.”
Harrison was convicted of mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and witness tampering. He currently awaits his sentencing where he faces up to 20 years in prison. His stepfather denies any involvement in the scam, and has yet to begin his trial.
