Former Black Stars player granted bail over alleged visa fraud

Samuel Inkoom, a former player of the Ghana Black Stars, has been granted a GH¢100,000 bail with two sureties over visa fraud. 

The Court presided over by Mrs Susana Eduful ordered that each of Inkoom’s sureties should earn not less than GH¢5,000. 

He is also to deposit his passport picture with the Court’s Registry. 

Inkoom is alleged to have taken US$4,000 from Madam Elizabeth Atarime Mboh Awuni under the pretext of securing her client with a USA travelling visa, but he has denied it.  

The court asked that Inkoom appears before it on January 22, 2025. 

Police Chief Inspector Tetteh Boafo, giving the facts, said Madam Awuni was an entrepreneur and resident of Oyarifa, Accra, as Madam Abigail Owusu, a public servant, also a resident of Oyarifa, Accra, and both were complainants in the case. 

Inkoom, the accused person, is a retired footballer residing at Sekondi Takoradi in the Western Region.  

She said in December 2023, the complainant Awuni met Inkoom at Achimota while scouting new young footballers and in the course of their conversion, Inkoom made a representation to the complainant that aside from his scouting job, he was also into travel and tour business. 

Chief Inspector Boafo said Inkoom also told Madam Boafo that he could secure USA and Canadian visas for interested applicants to travel outside the country within six weeks at an affordable fee of $4,000.00.  

Upon such representation, the complainant became convinced and parted with $4,000.00 for the accused to secure her client a United States of America visa, the Court heard.  

She said that in the process, the other complainant Owusu also met Inkoom, and upon the same representation he made, she also showed interest and parted with $2,000.00 for Inkoom to secure her a United States of America visa.  

Chief Inspector Boafo said Inkoom upon receiving the amounts in question, promised delivery within six to eight weeks, however, the scheduled date elapsed and he failed to honour his promise and went into hiding.  

The complaints, the Prosecution said, suspected foul play and reported the case to the Police for help, leading to the arrest of the accused person.  

An investigation caution statement was obtained from Inkoom during which he admitted having collected the said amounts of money from the complainants and stated that he gave the same amounts to his partner based in the United States of America to facilitate the visa acquisition process.  

Meanwhile, Inkoom failed to provide the Police with the necessary information to assist investigations and based on that his assertions were considered as mere fabrications, she told the court.  

Police said further investigations revealed that the accused person had no partner in the USA as he claimed and that he made such a false presentation to swindle the victims of their money.  

During the investigation, a cash exhibit of $2000 was retrieved from Inkoom, the accused person and the same handed over to the complainant Awuni.  

After investigations, Inkoom was arraigned.