CNN
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An Ohio man was sentenced to twenty years in jail Wednesday for pretending to be a Ghanaian prince and swindling greater than a dozen victims out of tons of of hundreds of {dollars}.
Daryl Robert Harrison, who glided by Prince Daryl R. Attipoe and Prophet Daryl R. Attipoe, conned a minimum of 14 folks out of greater than $800,000 in line with proof proven at his trial.
Harrison was convicted in September of mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and witness tampering.
For a number of years, Harrison stole cash from individuals who believed they had been investing in African mining and trucking corporations, prosecutors stated. Harrison falsely claimed that he was a prince from Ghana and had connections to these corporations, in line with the Justice Division.
A number of of Harrison’s victims had been congregants of the Energy Home of Prayer Ministries, the place Harrison and his stepfather claimed they had been ministers. Based on prosecutors, Harrison and his stepfather used the funding cash for private bills, together with renting a home in Colorado and buying luxurious vehicles.
District Decide Michael J. Newman gave Harrison the utmost sentence allowed underneath the regulation – 20 years behind bars – greater than the 14-year sentence prosecutors had requested for.
“Every of the Defendant’s fraud crimes had been dedicated in a chilly, calculated and premeditated trend,” prosecutors wrote in court docket filings, describing Harrison as an “extraordinarily selfcentered, self-possessed sociopath who has no respect for societal guidelines or norms, and additional lacks any empathy or sympathy for his victims” that “intimidated and threatened his victims to determine and keep management over them.”
Harrison had requested the choose for a a lot decrease sentence, highlighting supportive letters written by parishioners and relations. Harrison’s protection lawyer additionally famous that his spouse, who’s caring for their six kids, is battling stage IV most cancers.
Harrison’s stepfather, Robert Shelly Harrison, Jr., pleaded responsible to 1 felony cost in December. He might be sentenced later this month.