‘I’ve been offered plea deals, but I turned it down because I am innocent’ – Abdul Inusah on fraud case in US

Abdul Inusah, son of former Tamale Central MP Inusah Fuseini has spoken out about his conviction of online fraud in the United States.

In interviews granted to GH One’s Francis Abban and on Assase Radio, he maintains that he is innocent and that he even turned down plea deals offered by US Prosecutors.

“I’ve been offered plea deals, one of the plea deals was six months, and the six months was not even on jail term. It was looking at probation. But I turned it down for the mere fact that I am innocent. I wouldn’t take a plea deal if I’ve not done any crime. And besides, if you’re not a criminal, why are you taking a plea deal,” he told Francis Abban on Thursday.

The former MP’s son was found guilty by a jury for receipt of stolen money, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two other counts of wire fraud for his role in a Huntington-based scheme that defrauded individuals in multiple states through the use of false online personas.

Inusah is scheduled to be sentenced on November 21, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 50 years in prison, a US Justice Department statement said. 

But he says reports about a maximum penalty of 50 years isn’t totally correct. Citing knowledge of the sentencing guidelines which he says he’s been through with his Attorney, he said: “I don’t know where they got that 50 years from. Maximum would have been 12 months to 24 months. For those charges I was found guilty, they are dependent on each other, the sentencing guidelines classify them as one offence."

US prosecutors had indicated that one false persona, “Miarama,” 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 company set up by Inusah. 

Explaining, however, Inusah said while a student in the US, he sold auction cars through his company, Bitsav Supply LLC, (which prosecutors had said was a shell company), indicating that the only reason he is connected to the matter was that one of those accused had bought a car from him in 2018.

He was also charged with counts of wire fraud involving a $2,000 Zelle wire transfer, in which prosecutors said he used the “Miarama” false persona in January 2019.

“The $2000 was my money initially. When the investigation happened, with the first indictment of 27th April, there was nothing of $2000 or $48000 or $12000 in there. It clearly stated receipt of $20000 and alluding to the fact that $20000 was wire fraud,” he said. 

He told Francis Abban with consent from his ex-girlfriend, he had transferred the said amount to himself, through the Zelle payment platform that works like a mobile money platform.

“They didn’t only look at my business account, they looked at my personal account. And that was made by my girlfriend. With her consent, she asked me to send that money to myself. That was broken down into two counts – first count was identity theft. My girlfriend, she was brought to court to testify. She testified that she gave me permission to do that transaction so that identity theft was dropped. But the $2000 was kept and because that came through a wire transmission, that becomes wire fraud.”

He says there are discussions currently ongoing with his attorney on next steps to take .