Ex-Ghana player Samuel Inkoom granted GH₵100k bail in visa fraud case

Former Ghana international Samuel Inkoom has been granted bail in the case brought against him for allegedly defrauding a woman of $4000.00 under the guise of securing a US VISA for her.

The court presided over by Mrs Susana Eduful granted the retired footballer a GH₵100,000.00 bail with two sureties of which each should earn not less than GH₵5000.00.

In addition, he was directed to drop his passport at the Court’s Registry and to appear before the court again on January 22, 2025.

Inkoom is accused of taking $4,000.00 from Elizabeth Atarime Mboh Awuni, claiming he would secure a USA travel visa for her client, but he has denied the allegation.

Police Chief Inspector Tetteh Boafo presented the facts in court, explaining that Madam Awuni, an entrepreneur living in Oyarifa, Accra, and Madam Abigail Owusu, a public servant also from Oyarifa, were both complainants in the case.

Case Background

In December 2023, Madam Awuni met Inkoom while scouting for young footballers in Achimota. During their conversation, Inkoom claimed he was also involved in travel and tours, in addition to his scouting work. He told Madam Awuni that he could help secure USA and Canadian visas for applicants within six weeks, at an affordable price of $4,000.00.

Convinced by this offer, Madam Awuni paid Inkoom $4,000.00 to help her client get a USA visa. Later, Madam Owusu met Inkoom and, hearing the same offer, also paid him $2,000.00 for a USA visa.

Chief Inspector Boafo said that Inkoom promised to deliver the visas within six to eight weeks, but when the time passed, he failed to keep his word and went into hiding.

Suspecting something was wrong, the complainants reported the case to the police, which led to Inkoom's arrest.

During an investigation, Inkoom admitted to taking the money from the complainants but claimed he had sent the funds to a partner in the USA to facilitate the visa process. However, he failed to provide any useful information to the police, and his story was seen as a fabrication.

Further investigations revealed that Inkoom did not have any partner in the USA as he had claimed. It was determined that he had made up the story to scam the victims out of their money.

Police also found $2,000.00 in cash with Inkoom, which was returned to Madam Awuni.

After completing the investigation, Inkoom was charged and brought before the court.