Word: blay
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
There was one, er, problem, Blay-Miezah told his investors. To gain access to the money, he had to fulfill a number of complicated conditions that included presenting a specially numbered diplomatic passport to the banks and cutting deals with certain tribal chiefs. Outside funds were necessary to pay expenses incurred as Blay-Miezah wheeled and dealed to get to the mother lode...
...Most of the Philadelphia-area investors were allegedly lured into the scheme by Blay-Miezah's partner Ellis, whom Castille describes as "a good talker, a hustler." They were assured of a return of as much as 50 to 1 on their investments. Attorney Barry Ginsberg and a group of friends ended up dumping a total of $1.5 million into the trust, and according to investigators, an elderly widow invested $70,000, which amounted to her life savings. Most investors did, however, realize that they were getting into a rather risky venture. "Don't feel sorry for these people," says...
While Ellis was seeking out investors, Blay-Miezah was living overseas, having fled the U.S. in 1974 after he was charged with trying to cash $250,000 worth of stolen cashier's checks. But the Ghanaian was always willing to greet his American benefactors at the posh offices or hotel suites he had set up with their money in London, Amsterdam and Accra. "I can't live like a pauper," he told one investor. "I have to impress my people...
Ellis has been charged with 64 counts of theft and conspiracy, and if convicted, faces a maximum of 543 years in prison and fines of $985,000. Ellis told TIME last week that he first met Blay-Miezah in 1972 when the Ghanaian was being held in a Pennsylvania prison after failing to pay a large bill at Philadelphia's Bellevue Stratford Hotel. After Ellis assisted him in posting bond and paying off the hotel bill, Blay-Miezah promised to pay back his new friend "with considerable interest" and took him on as his partner in the trust deal. Ellis...
Meanwhile, back in Ghana, Blay-Miezah is in detention as government authorities investigate the sting. A loyal investor, New Jersey Businessman Walter Hajduk, says he visited Blay-Miezah in a government compound, where the Ghanaian urged him to tell officials that, if set free for seven days, he could travel to Europe and prove that the trust exists. If he failed, Blay- + Miezah told the investor, the authorities could shoot him. Hajduk would like the Ghanaians to take Blay-Miezah up on his offer. Should Blay-Miezah prove to be a liar, says Hajduk, "I'll put the bullets...