KANSAS CITY – A Ghana native residing in Dumfries, Va., has been indicted by a federal grand jury for his role in wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies as part of a more than $5 million romance fraud scheme, according to the United State Attorney’s Office.

Henry N. Asomani, 33, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was charged in a six-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City. That indictment was unsealed and made public  upon Asomani’s arrest and initial court appearance. Asomani remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

According to the indictment, 13 victims lost a total of $5,075,569 in the wire fraud conspiracy over an approximately two-year period from Sept. 15, 2015, to Oct. 17, 2017. Asomani allegedly received a total of $2,993,354 from victims across the United States, including three victims in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Unknown co-conspirators targeted individuals through online dating websites with various romance frauds, the indictment says. The unknown co-conspirators impersonated individuals who were involved in businesses overseas. They convinced the victims that they needed funds to help with moving gold from a foreign country, orphanage expenses, and school and travel expenses. The co-conspirators told the victims they would share the profits when the gold was returned to the United States. In fact, none of the victims received any profit or received any gold from the co-conspirators.

For example, one victim who resides in Lee’s Summit, Mo., set up a profile on ChristianMingle.com following the death of her husband to brain cancer. In October 2015, an individual claiming to be “Larry B. White” initiated contact with her. Following numerous conversations by email and telephone, “White” convinced the victim to invest in a Ghana gold mine. “White” promised a 40 percent return on the investment of money. From November 2015 through January 2016, under the direction of “White,” the victim sent funds to multiple entities by check and wire totaling approximately $3,292,000. Of that amount, the indictment says, $2,292,000 was transferred to accounts controlled by Asomani. To date, the victim has not received any money or gold profits from “White.”

Another victim, who resides in Leawood, Kan., met “George Bill Parker” on Facebook.  “Parker” convinced the victim to send funds for gold-related expenses, such as legal fees, customs, storage, farm-related expenses and ransom. “Parker” promised he would pay the victim back with money or gold. This victim had a total loss of approximately $800,000. Of that amount, the indictment says, the victim sent approximately $220,700 to accounts controlled by Asomani.

A third victim, who resides in Kansas City, Mo., met “Bradley Fischer” on ChristianMingle.com. “Fischer” convinced the victim to send funds for school expenses, travel expenses and to start a new life in Kansas City. On July 19, 2017, the victim wired $24,000 to Asomani’s bank account. “Fischer” promised to pay the victim back when he got to Kansas City.  To date, the victim has received $1,000 back from “Fischer.”

Other victims reside in New Jersey, Alaska, Oklahoma, Florida, Texas, Kansas and Iowa.

According to the indictment, Asomani wired $1,789,416 from his bank accounts in the United States to bank accounts in Ghana. He spent approximately $342,278 on auto purchases and auto- or shipping-related expenses. Asomani shipped 18 vehicles to Ghana, having a declared value of approximately $284,190.

The federal indictment charges Asomani with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of money laundering.

The indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Asomani to forfeit to the government any property derived from the proceeds of his alleged violation, including $2,993,354 and a 2019 silver Lexus NX300.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

MANHATTAN — A member of the Kansas State University football team was arrested Sunday in Manhattan.

Just after 6p.m. Sunday, police arrested Daquan Patton, 21, in the 1100 Block of Bluemont Avenue, for failure to appear, according to the Riley County Police Department arrest report.  He failed to pay an earlier speeding ticket, according to RCPD.

Patton is a red shirt junior linebacker from Cedar Park, Texas, according to the KSU football roster.

The KSU athletic department has not released a statement on the arrest.

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas attorney was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison for concealing his assets and income in an effort to keep the Internal Revenue Service from collecting more than $132,000 in taxes he owed, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

The defendant also was ordered to pay restitution of slightly more than $202,000, which includes penalties and interest.

David B. Mandelbaum, 58, Leawood, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. In his plea, he admitted he owed more than $132,000 from the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010 tax years.

He concealed his assets and income from the IRS by setting up bank accounts under other identities and making false statements. He also kept personal money in a trust account that was supposed to include only funds belonging to clients, in order to hide that money from the IRS.

PETTIS COUNTY —Authorities are investigating after human skeletal remains were found in an area southeast of Sedalia.

On Saturday evening, October 27, a Missouri Conservation agent reported locating human bones near the Eagle Brook Farm subdivision southeast of Sedalia.  Pettis County deputies responded to the agent’s location and took custody of the scene for the night.

Pettis County Sheriff Kevin Bond says the remains weren’t buried. He says authorities had to hike to them because the area where they were found is “densely wooded.”

On Sunday, investigators from the Pettis County Sheriff’s Office and Pettis County Coroner’s Office processed the scene with the assistance of a forensic anthropologist and an investigator with the Boone County Medical Examiners Office.  Skeletal remains and other evidence were recovered and transported to Columbia for further analysis to determine identity.

 

 

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Inspired by how the GI Bill helped her father become the first in his family to go to college, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo unveiled a plan last year to offer free tuition at the state’s three public colleges.

The Legislature, despite being dominated by Raimondo’s fellow Democrats, was reluctant to support it, citing the cost. The governor ended up with a pilot program at just one of the colleges.

It wasn’t the only time her agenda had been frustrated by lawmakers from her own party.

“The fact of the matter is, every governor wishes the legislature would do everything they want,” Raimondo said. “But it doesn’t happen, you know. It’s the way it works.”

Raimondo’s experience is a cautionary tale for supporters of the record number of women, most of them Democrats, who are running for governor this year.

Even if many of them end up winning, it will not necessarily translate into a sea change in state priorities. In some cases, they will have to work with a legislature dominated by the opposing party or one that is politically divided. Even lawmakers of the same party can be difficult to herd in a certain direction.

Natural disasters, budget deficits or crises unforeseen on Election Day can quickly swamp an agenda.

Christine Todd Whitman got a firsthand taste of that as governor of New Jersey.

Despite delivering on a campaign promise to reduce personal income taxes, she nearly had her 1997 re-election derailed by a dispute over auto insurance rates.

Her fellow Republicans in the legislature torpedoed her plan to overhaul insurance regulations, which would have given cost breaks for motorists who were willing to give up their right to sue for pain and suffering after an accident. On the campaign trail, she was hammered by her Democratic opponent for failing to lower rates.

Whitman later worked with Democrats on another proposal that ultimately passed with bipartisan support.

“You are judged on what you get done,” Whitman said. “The executive branch is different from the legislative branch in that way. You can’t just talk about it; you have to deliver.”

Just six women are serving as governor and no more than nine have ever served as governor at the same time, a mark that was set more than a decade ago. More than half the states — 28 — have never elected a woman as governor.

This year, 60 women ran for governor in the primaries, with 16 advancing to the November election. All but four of those are Democrats.

The surge in women running for office has been fueled largely on the Democratic side by the 2016 presidential election and actions by the Trump administration and Republican-led Congress on health care, taxes, immigration, Supreme Court nominations and other issues. Expectations are high among activists that these women, if they win, will usher in sweeping changes at the state level.

But a governor’s job is often constrained by outside forces, and promises made on the campaign trail can be particularly hard to keep.

Medicaid expansion is one example. Democrats Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Laura Kelly in Kansas support expanding Medicaid coverage in their states to include more lower-income adults without children.

But the authority to expand Medicaid rests solely with lawmakers, and the legislatures in both states are likely to remain under the control of Republicans who largely oppose it. Medicaid expansion is one of the key parts of former President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul and has provided health coverage to roughly 12 million Americans in the 33 states that opted for it.

Abrams and Kelly said they will try to persuade their respective legislatures, nevertheless. Both are veteran lawmakers who have built relationships with Republicans over the years. Kelly said it’s her history of working across the aisle that will help her be successful if she becomes governor.

“I have 14 years of established relationships in the legislature and the confidence and the trust of my moderate Republican friends,” Kelly said. “They will be there when I am in the governor’s office.”

Even where their agenda might be thwarted, governors still retain the power to veto legislation they oppose.

In an email to supporters expressing frustration with then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, Abrams cited the importance of stopping attempts to constrain abortion, marriage equality and voting access. She vowed to be a “firewall” and “fight every single day to make sure that Georgians’ hard-fought rights are not stripped away.”

In Michigan, Democratic candidate Gretchen Whitmer recalled a 2013 vote when she was in the legislature as an example of the type of legislation she might be able stop as governor.

Male Republican lawmakers were supporting a proposal requiring women to have separate insurance for abortions. Whitmer blasted the legislation, which eventually became law, saying her colleagues continued to “ignorantly and unnecessarily weigh in on important women’s health issues that they know nothing about.”

In her campaign against Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette, Whitmer says having more women involved in policy decisions will be better for both men and women. For example, she said everyone in a family benefits when a woman earns an equitable wage and has access to quality health care.

In Rhode Island, Raimondo’s disappointments have been balanced by a number of successes.

She said her experiences as a mother influenced some of her priorities as governor, such as successfully pushing for all-day kindergarten across the state and increasing access to pre-kindergarten after watching her children thrive in such programs.

“I think that that has made me a better governor,” Raimondo said. “I think the point is people deserve a governor who is going to fight for everybody.”

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COLUMBIA —President Donald Trump will be in  Missouri this week for a campaign rally.

The rally is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Columbia Regional Airport Hangar 350, 11350 South Airport Drive.

Tickets are required and available here.    Doors open 3:30p.m.

Trump has made several appearances in Missouri in support of Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley, who is running against incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill in one of the nation’s most closely-watched races.

Trump’s campaign says the president is expected to discuss the economy, free market solutions for health care, border security, and other issues. It wasn’t immediately clear if Hawley or any other Missouri candidates would also speak at the event.

 

 

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TOPEKA– Law enforcement authorities are investigating a homicide and want the public’s help to locate two suspects.

Just after 4:30p.m., Saturday, police were dispatched to 300 NW Grant APT 305 in Topeka on a possible medical call, according to Lt. Robert Simmons.

First responders found an 42-year-old Michelle Stadler deceased due to apparent blunt force trauma.

On Sunday after, detectives reported they located 2 possible persons of interest related to this crime including 54-year-old Frank George Rector and 34-year-old Luke A. Wabaunsee, according to Simmons.

Police released Rector and booked Wabaunsee in the  Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of first degree murder.