A Ghanaian man identified as Samuel Opoku has been taken into custody in the United States in connection with an alleged email scam that defrauded a local church of more than US$60,000.
Opoku was arrested alongside another man, Ousmane Gassama Diaby, who is accused of being involved in the scheme. Both men face charges linked to the alleged fraud.
According to a FOX 5 Atlanta report published on October 19, 2026, Diaby, who is based in Arlington, Virginia, had been wanted by authorities while in Ghana for several months before his arrest.
Investigators from the Troup County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division began probing the case in 2025 after receiving a complaint that the church had lost tens of thousands of dollars.
After months of investigations and tracing the money to both men, authorities tracked down Opoku and arrested him.
Subsequently, a warrant was issued for Diaby’s arrest. He was arrested in October 2026 after officers travelled to New Jersey to apprehend him shortly after his arrival from Ghana.
The two suspects allegedly manipulated email communications and created accounts to divert money that church leaders believed they were sending to a legitimate organisation.
Lt Stewart Smith of the Troup County Sheriff’s Office explained how the scheme worked.
“And what they did, they were manipulating emails, manipulating accounts where this church had a relationship with a previous organization, and the church legitimately thought they were sending funds to this legitimate organization.
“And what these two individuals were doing, they creating other accounts and the money was being deposited in there and they were able to take that and actually make cash transactions from ATM machines,” he said.
Diaby has been charged with multiple felonies, including five counts of identity theft, money laundering, theft by taking, and initiating deceptive commercial emails.
Opoku is also facing similar charges in connection with the alleged scheme.
