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Tag: Prince Daryl R. Attipoe

  • Witness in court reveals investing GHS5.2 million across companies linked to NAM 1

    Witness in court reveals investing GHS5.2 million across companies linked to NAM 1

    In the ongoing trial involving CEO of Menzgold Ghana Limited, Nana Appiah Mensah, the initial prosecution witness, Stephen Attipoe, revealed to the Accra High Court that he invested GH¢5.2 million in the accused person’s companies based on their misrepresented information.

    According to reports from Dailyguidenetwork.com, the Civil Engineer, who received a lump sum of GH¢502,000 on his investment, disclosed that, apart from the investment, he was obligated to pay a non-refundable commission of GH¢335,400 for seven investments with NAM 1’s companies.

    Nana Appiah Mensah, Menzgold Ghana Limited, and Brew Marketing Consult Ghana Limited face 39 charges, including selling gold without a license, operating a deposit-taking business, inducement to invest, defrauding by false pretense, fraudulent breach of trust, and money laundering.

    The charges relate to defrauding customers of various sums totaling GH¢340,835,650 between 2016 and 2018.

    Despite NAM1 pleading not guilty to all charges and being on bail, the first witness, during cross-examination, asserted that he invested significant amounts due to the companies’ misrepresentations.

    When the defense suggested that the witness knowingly took an investment risk and suffered losses, Mr Attipoe maintained that it was due to false representations made by the companies.

    The defense also suggested that the only default in the witness’s relationship with the companies occurred when the Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana (SEC) intervened by closing down the businesses.

    However, Attipoe refuted this claim, stating that the companies failed to pay him returns before SEC publicly announced the illegal nature of NAM1’s businesses.

    Attipoe further informed the court that at the time of SEC’s intervention, the total amount due to him was GH¢432,000, highlighting that an ECOBANK cheque with a face value of GH¢240,000, provided by NAM1’s company, was dishonored. The case has been adjourned to January 15, 2024.

  • Ohio man sentenced to 20 years in jail for claiming to be a prince from Ghana

    Ohio man sentenced to 20 years in jail for claiming to be a prince from Ghana

    A man from Ohio has been granted a 20-year prison term on Wednesday, for posing as a Ghanaian prince and defrauding over a dozen victims.

    According to testimony presented during his trial, Daryl Robert Harrison, also known as Prince Daryl R. Attipoe and Prophet Daryl R. Attipoe, defrauded at least 14 people out of more than US$800,000.

    Harrison was convicted in September of mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and witness tampering.

    For several years, Harrison stole money from people who believed they were investing in African mining and trucking companies, prosecutors said. Harrison falsely claimed that he was a prince from Ghana and had connections to those companies, according to the Justice Department.

    Several of Harrison’s victims were congregants of the Power House of Prayer Ministries, where Harrison and his stepfather claimed they were ministers. According to prosecutors, Harrison and his stepfather used the investment money for personal expenses, including renting a house in Colorado and purchasing luxury cars.

    District Judge Michael J. Newman gave Harrison the maximum sentence allowed under the law – 20 years behind bars – more than the 14-year sentence prosecutors had asked for.

    “Each of the Defendant’s fraud crimes were committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated fashion,” prosecutors wrote in court filings, describing Harrison as an “extremely selfcentered, self-possessed sociopath who has no respect for societal rules or norms, and further lacks any empathy or sympathy for his victims” that “intimidated and threatened his victims to establish and maintain control over them.”

    Harrison had asked the judge for a much lower sentence, highlighting supportive letters written by parishioners and family members. Harrison’s defense attorney also noted that his wife, who is taking care of their six children, is battling stage IV cancer.

    Harrison’s stepfather, Robert Shelly Harrison, Jr., pleaded guilty to one felony charge in December. He will be sentenced later this month.