US citizen posing as Ghanaian prince sentenced to 20 years for fraud

A man from Ohio was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment last Wednesday for his role in a fraudulent scheme, which involved posing as a prince from Ghana and deceiving more than a dozen victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Daryl Robert Harrison, who also used the aliases Prince Daryl R. Attipoe and Prophet Daryl R. Attipoe, was found guilty of several charges including mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and witness tampering.

Prosecutors presented evidence that Harrison duped at least 14 individuals into investing more than $800,000 into purported African mining and trucking companies. He falsely claimed to have connections to these businesses and represented himself as a prince from Ghana. 

Court records show that several of his victims were members of the Power House of Prayer Ministries, where Harrison and his stepfather posed as ministers.

According to prosecutors, the investment money was used for personal expenses including renting a house in Colorado and purchasing luxury vehicles. 

Harrison's stepfather, Robert Shelly Harrison, Jr., pleaded guilty to one felony charge in December and is set to be sentenced later this month.

During the sentencing, District Judge Michael J. Newman imposed the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, citing the premeditated and calculated nature of Harrison's crimes. 

In a court filing, prosecutors described Harrison as a "self-centred, self-possessed sociopath who has no respect for societal rules or norms, and further lacks any empathy or sympathy for his victims." 

Harrison had requested a lesser sentence and cited supportive letters from parishioners and family members, as well as his wife's battle with stage IV cancer.