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An Ohio man was convicted last week after conning at least 14 people out of $800,000 under the guise that he was a Ghanaian prince and prophet, CNN reports.
According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release, Daryl Robert Harrison, 44, posed as Prince Daryl R. Attipoe and Prophet Daryl R. Attipoe to gain investors for African mining and trucking companies he claimed to be associated with.
Harrison ran the scheme for six years, claiming that an investment in the non-existent businesses would result in a 28 to 33 percent return.
Most of the victims were congregants from the Power House of Prayer Ministries, which Harrison and his stepfather claimed to be ministers of, per the DOJ.
Harrison is awaiting sentencing but faces up to 20 years in prison on charges of mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and witness tampering.
His stepfather denies any involvement in the scheme.
However, prosecutors say the two withdrew cash and “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,” per CNN.
Harrison and his stepfather used the money to buy luxury cars, airplane tickets, and to rent a house in Colorado, according to prosecutors.
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