[suspenseful music]
- Wednesday, an African prince
will be sentenced behind me,
here at the Federal Building
in Dayton.
He stole hundreds
of thousands of dollars.
- Admit it--
we're fascinated by royalty.
They live in a world
of diamonds,
castles, and fortunes that...
[in British accent] Us mere
peasants could only dream of.
There's an undeniable allure
to that world of privilege.
And with all that wealth, why
would they need your money?
Well, let's just say one royal
thought your money would look
just right in his palace.
Self-proclaimed prince
Daryl Attipoe
came with tales of African
diamonds and coal mines,
offering riches
to those who'd invest.
But instead of shared wealth,
he spent nearly
a million dollars
on luxury cars
and all-expense-paid travel.
So what happens
when a royal promise
comes with a royal price tag?
Well, not all fairy tales have
happy endings for the prince.
I'm Laci Mosley.
I'm an actor, comedian,
and host of a podcast
all about the world
of fraud and deceit.
I've researched
thousands of scams.
This is my expertise
and my passion.
So I'm going on a journey
across America
to dive
into small-town swindles
and big-city cons.
They call me Scam Goddess.
- Whoo!
- Welcome to my world.
Remember the movie
"Coming to America"?
[upbeat music]
Picture this--
African royalty arrives
in an economically
downturned area.
The allure
of royalty and wealth
dazzle the locals
as they arrive.
And as expected,
in strides
the Lion King himself,
draped in luxury.
Well, this isn't that story.
But it does involve
a supposed prince
coming to town.
You know those fishy
African-prince emails--
the ones offering riches
if you'll front them
a little cash?
[buzzer blaring]
It's an internet classic.
But what happens when that
scam steps out of the inbox
and into America's heartland?
Hello. Dayton, Ohio.
I am on my way.
[dramatic music]
Dayton, Ohio,
the heart of the Rust Belt,
is probably the last place
you'd expect to bump
into royalty.
- It was, at one time,
a lot of auto manufacturers.
Opportunities of employment
was what brought people
to this region.
And then the automotive
industry kind of left.
- A once-thriving kingdom
where 1/3 of the people
now live
below the poverty line--
ripe for a little sprinkling
of royal riches,
don't you think?
Hello, Dayton, Ohio!
It's me, Scam Princess!
[car horn honking]
Oh, ow.
Okay, I'm getting back in here.
I have seen "Hereditary."
Oh, my God.
But me, I'm just visiting.
Dayton needed
a real royal benefactor.
[singers vocalizing]
May I present
Prince Daryl Attipoe
from Ghana.
- When I met Daryl,
I thought that Daryl was just
such a good-looking young man.
He's tall, 6'2",
which kind of helped him
stand out.
Clearly spent a lot
of time in the gym,
had the washboard stomach
and great biceps.
Seemed to be
the whole package.
- He was a charmer.
He knew how to talk to people,
how to get somebody's attention
and get them intrigued
to start listening
to whatever he had to say.
- Daryl told me
that he was a Prince
in Ghana, Africa,
because he was next in line
for this kingdom.
He had all this money
coming in
and a diamond mine.
- And, naturally,
if you're royalty,
you've got to make
an entrance.
- He was driving, like,
these exotic cars,
living in this big house
in a beautiful
golf-course community.
He must have some
serious cash coming in.
- Quite the businessman.
- Daryl sure looked the part.
But the real power move--
convincing people
he could make them rich, too.
- So Daryl told people
that they could tap
into this immense power
and wealth that he had
being an African prince
in Ghana,
he had access to mines
for diamonds and chromium,
and they could get
into that business
by giving him money--
and huge returns.
- They often say that
the best way to sell something
is not to let people know
that you're trying
to sell something.
And he was great at that.
He sold an idea, dreams.
He sold a better life.
- A touch of royal sparkle
in Dayton?
[cat meows]
With Prince Daryl in town,
anything's possible, right?
But what about Ghana,
his so-called homeland?
[singers vocalizing]
Known for its vibrant culture,
stunning beaches,
and ancient kingdoms,
Ghana today is a republic.
No King Charles there.
Instead, it's a place where
the royal family tree spread
through powerful tribes
with lineages so tangled,
it's practically a royal bush.
With roots like that,
it's almost like just anyone
could claim a royal title.
And, honestly, that's what
made Daryl so convincing--
his lofty title,
apparent wealth,
and charisma.
It all added up
to a sense of legitimacy.
And with Ghana's diamonds
and natural treasures,
it's easy to see
how his royal act
might dazzle the right crowd.
[upbeat music]
- Is it unlikely that a member
of the Ghanaian royal family
could be living in Dayton?
Yeah, maybe.
Is it inconceivable?
No.
- When you go to Google
and you do a search,
you can type in
"Prince Daryl Attipoe."
Boop, boop, boop, boop, boop.
There's just a plethora
of information
about this Prince of Ghana.
He must be powerful.
He must have connections.
And so maybe he is a prince,
you know?
Maybe he is
this big, bad investor.
It's like, well,
why wouldn't I trust him?
Let me hook up to something
that's successful.
- It's inherent in people
to just want to believe
that people are successful
and can do things for them.
And he's able to project that,
and it worked.
♪ ♪
- But not everyone is...
[clears throat]
"Ghana" buy his claim
to the throne,
especially one
of Daryl's subjects
who would know best.
She married him.
Victoria Ellen
is Daryl's ex-wife.
And if anyone can pull back
the royal curtain
on his story, it's her.
Whoo, child,
it is hot out here.
Are the woods her backyard?
Okay, this is cute.
[dog whimpers]
Thank you, Victoria,
for sitting down with me
and talking to me
a little bit about Daryl.
Where did you meet him?
- So we met at church.
It was a Sunday-night service.
And he was
with a friend of his,
and I was with a friend
of mine,
and we just made eye contact
during the service,
ended up connecting
after service.
- Sunday-night service.
- Right.
- Well, what's going on
at the church after dark?
I might have to go...
- Right, exactly.
- If that's where
people are meeting.
- [laughs]
- What was he like back then?
Did he tell you that he was
a prince from Ghana?
- No. This guy was born
on the West Side of Dayton.
- Oh, my goodness.
Oh, yeah, minor details here.
Before he was self-claimed
Prince Daryl Attipoe,
he was just Daryl Harrison
of Dayton, Ohio...
born and raised.
Here's his yearbook
photo from '96,
where he left us
with this quote...
Okay, Daryl, trust me.
We're going to remember you
for so much more,
because this Ohio-born
Prince of Ghana
might actually be
the Prince of Lies.
- We're like,
this makes no sense.
But now we're like,
well, who is this guy?
- Clearly, he is a chameleon.
[percussive music]
- Hear ye, hear ye,
Daryl Attipoe,
the Crown Prince of Ghana,
has arrived in Dayton, Ohio,
bringing diamond mines,
chrome,
and investment deals for all.
But long before the crown,
Daryl had someone convinced
she knew the real him.
- He was super charismatic,
just seemed very likable.
He definitely has, like,
this presence about him,
where he wants to be
the center of attention.
- Mm.
- You know, I was just
a naive 19-year-old girl
from the country,
and I was falling in love
and was just, you know,
in awe of this person.
All of this was really new.
I never had a real boyfriend.
We had not known
each other very long
before I ended up pregnant.
I got married a month or two
shy of my 21st birthday.
And literally from the jump...
the tables turned.
- What was the first sign
that things were different?
- The control of everything.
I started realizing, like,
oh, he doesn't want you
to talk to anyone.
He doesn't want you
to go anywhere.
We basically did church
and home.
That was it.
- Wow.
- So it's just this constant
place of, like, I'm in control.
You're not.
Who I was, or who I thought
that I was, was fading.
- Victoria was falling victim
to Daryl's first scam.
Long before he became
the Prince of Ghana,
he convinced her he was just
a regular nice guy.
- Everyone thought we were
living this perfect life.
But, you know, things
aren't really working out.
Like, I'm not really happy
in this relationship.
- When was the moment
where you said, enough?
- Yeah, so, once I got pregnant
with my daughter,
I knew, I've got to get
out of this.
- How do you end up, like,
separated from Daryl?
- Actually, funny enough,
he ended up serving me papers.
He filed for divorce before me.
- Wow.
- He wasn't interested anymore
in his children.
He actually left
for nearly ten years.
- No contact? He's not calling,
birthday cards?
- Not a phone call,
not a birthday card.
Don't send a Christmas present.
- Were you shocked by that?
- I was thankful.
I just wanted to be able
to put our lives back together.
- Mm-hmm.
- And I did.
My kids were thriving.
Everything was fantastic.
I actually had met
my real Prince Charming...
- Aw.
- And remarried,
living just a wonderful,
happy, healthy life.
- So you've rebuilt your life
from the ground up.
- Right.
And just randomly, in 2015,
Daryl comes back
from the "proverbial dead."
- After ten years.
- After ten years.
- Wow.
- It was like seeing a ghost.
[spooky music]
- Just when Victoria thought
she'd seen the last of him,
Daryl pulls a classic
back-from-the-dead move.
After their marriage,
she knew he had a habit of not
being who he claimed to be.
It left her wondering,
what was his game this time?
- You can imagine, like, this
guy's been gone all this time.
Now he randomly shows up.
He files to re-establish
parenting time.
He wants to see his kids now.
- After he left
for nearly a decade.
- Yeah.
The kids are now 12
and 15 years old,
and now he wants to have
a relationship.
And we're like,
this makes no sense.
But now we're like,
well, who is this guy?
And he's now saying
he's Prince Daryl Attipoe,
Prince of Ghana.
- Wow.
He just picked
a country and said...
- Just picked one.
Well, it sounded good.
- I'm a prince.
- It sounded good. Mm-hmm.
- Victoria was finally getting
the scoop
on what her ex
had been conjuring up
over the past decade.
According
to Daryl's fairy tale,
he'd been jetting off
to Africa,
cozying up to a Ghanaian
royal family named Attipoe,
and, voilà , he earned
a prince title of his own.
And the perks?
Daryl claims he snagged
a stake in a mining empire
worth $300 million.
Oh, and his coronation
ceremony--
picture 5 million people
applauding
as he's paraded
as the family's new prince.
And as for his own kids,
Daryl's legacy
came with royal titles,
unimaginable riches,
and a future inheritance
straight out of a storybook.
- One of our visits,
he was really selling us
on him being a prince
of Ghana, Africa,
and tracing out the lineage.
He was involved
with the mines out there,
and he would travel back
and forth there all the time.
At first, I was
a little bit confused.
- "I got some great news
to tell you guys.
"You're going to be
heirs to my throne.
"You are going to be
Prince Ryland,
and you're going to be
a princess, Mercedes."
We would have
all these luxurious things,
from a gorgeous mansion
to having exotic cars
and servants--
just everything
you could possibly think of.
- As wild as all
of this sounds,
Daryl also had a new card
up his sleeve
that might help him seem
more trustworthy.
After all,
who wouldn't trust someone
claiming divine purpose?
- And now he was a pastor.
So now he's like,
the man of God.
- Yep, in the ten years
since leaving,
Daryl reinvented himself
even further,
adding credibility as a pastor
at his own
Powerhouse of Prayer church.
Here he is tying knots
and tossing in hot takes.
- The husband
is the head of the wife.
There is nobody should be more
important than your husband.
Amen.
- So now a man
with a crown on his head
and God on his speed dial,
Daryl was ready to take
his royal act
to the next level.
Looking to invest
in his empire?
Oh, he had just
the deal for you.
He's a busy man.
- He's very busy.
- I'm like, when does he--
- He's got diamond mines.
- Clearly, he is a chameleon.
- He is a chameleon.
But the claims
are so outrageous.
Like, you think, like,
it has to be real,
because who would make
this outrageous claim?
- Mm-hmm.
- Like, who would say
they're the Prince of Ghana?
- Who, indeed?
With Ghana
as a mining hot spot
and a place where many trace
their roots to noble lineages,
it seemed like the perfect
setting for Daryl's story,
one rich in jewels
and royal prestige.
And his approach--
well...
the royal con is a classic.
Turns out noblemen
asking for cash
and folks handing it over
isn't new.
This scam's roots go back
to the Spanish prisoner con
from the French Revolution,
where so-called noblemen
promised big rewards
for, mm, a little help.
Fast-forward
to the digital age,
and the formula
is still the same.
Dazzle them
with wealth and status.
And that's exactly
what Daryl did,
using his royal act to draw in
those ready to believe
in his so-called empire.
I need to understand
how this con worked
beyond those
in his inner circle.
It's time for me
to meet his largest investor
and his biggest victim.
- It's going to take me
a long time to tell my family.
I would rather them not know.
[dramatic music]
- Daryl Harrison
didn't just change his name.
He transformed himself
into Daryl Attipoe,
the Crown Prince of Ghana,
with investment pitches
in fake royal diamond
and chrome mines.
But how did
this so-called prince
actually get people to invest?
[knock at door]
- Hi, Peggy.
- Hi. How are you?
Good to meet you.
- I'm Laci.
So wonderful to meet you.
- Come on in. Thank you.
- Oh, thank you.
Peggy Braun had
her own personal run-ins
with the so-called prince,
and they're far
from fairy-tale material.
I think it's about time
to uncover
how he used a crown
to cash in.
Well, Peggy, thank you
for sitting down with me.
It's so nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you also.
- How you doing?
- I'm doing pretty good.
- You're doing pretty good?
- Yeah. Mm-hmm.
- How long have
you lived in Ohio?
- I'm 60 years old.
And I've been in Ohio
my whole life.
- Oh, wow.
- I've been with the grocery
store for 23 years now.
- I heard that when you're
at the grocery store,
people, like, specifically go
to your line.
- Yeah, because everyone
loves me.
I give them
great customer service.
I love the customers.
I love the kids.
I love the people I work with.
- When did you meet Daryl?
- At the grocery store.
He started coming in there
in 2016,
kept on coming
through my line.
He acted like a charming guy.
He's got this big old smile.
Go get me a Cherry Coke
because he knew I liked
Cherry Coke...
you know,
then kept on talking to me.
He said, you know,
"I'm a prince from Ghana."
I was shocked.
I was like, you mean
I'm really talking to a prince?
He was so convincing.
He told me his name
was Daryl Attipoe.
I could look it up
on the internet.
So--
- Did you look it up?
Did he show you any proof
that he was a prince?
- Yeah, I looked it up
on the internet.
Everything to me looked legit,
and so I believed him.
- It was a bold hook.
This royal claim
was outrageous,
but Daryl knew
just how to spin
enough smoke and mirrors
to make it believable.
- If you go online
and you start Googling things,
well, he had
a LinkedIn account.
His LinkedIn page referenced
him as Crown Prince.
There's, I mean,
multiple Ghanaian websites
that referenced
this Daryl Attipoe.
There are people by that name
in Ghana.
If you just kind of did
a little bit of research,
there's stuff online
that made it look like,
hey, that he kind of looks
like a real deal,
according to these websites.
- Daryl gave his story a hint
of credibility
by literally linking himself
to the Attipoe lineage,
which he claimed traced back
to a historic royal line
in Ghana.
A touch of royal blood,
a sprinkle of diamonds,
and just like that,
Prince Daryl's tale
sparkled just enough
to draw believers
into his world.
- He kept on approaching me,
and then one time he said
that he could make me rich.
He said, how would you like
to be a business partner...
- Wow.
- Investing
in the NewMax Group?
It's a chrome-mining company
from Ghana.
I started looking into it.
- Now that the bait was
on the royal hook,
Daryl's next move
was setting out the line
with a pitch that seemed
just lucrative and credible
enough to attract a bite.
- There was a thing
that was incorporated in Ohio
called NewMax Group--
its activities
connected to Ghana.
And there is this group
in Ghana called NewMax Group
that suggests there's
this business over there.
They claim to be involved
in diamonds and chromium.
He had websites
that seemed to substantiate
that this thing existed.
Daryl told people
that they could invest
into that business, and he's
promising returns of, like,
28- to 30-some-odd percent.
Are these companies real?
There's stuff that certainly
makes it look that way.
- With Peggy's dream soaring,
Daryl's trap was ready.
He finally had Peggy,
hook, line, and sinker.
So Daryl proposed you
becoming a business partner
with him at the grocery store.
- Yes.
- And it sounds like you
also did your research,
and there was stuff online that
confirmed his identity as well.
- Yes.
- So I can see how
he earned a lot of your trust.
- Yeah, he earned
a lot of my trust.
He said, you know,
"I'll give you
a couple shares
of the company,"
he said,
"Because I'm really wealthy."
- Wow.
- "And you can make
a lot of money."
It just floored me,
because I was--
you know, I couldn't believe.
I actually said,
this is surreal.
You know, I'm gonna be...
richer than I ever thought
I was gonna be.
My main goal was, help out kids
like St. Jude's--
kids with cancer.
- Yeah.
- Kids are my life.
So he said, meet me
at a Chinese restaurant.
So I met him there.
He brought out
two proposals for me--
one if I wanted to invest.
At first, I said,
maybe I'll invest $50,000.
He just basically laughed
at me.
He said, I'm not
going to take that.
You know, that's nothing.
- Wow.
- Like, at that time,
I had over $600,000,
what I saved, what I worked
hard for--my retirement fund.
He says, well,
if you invest $400,000,
I'll give you some shares
from the chrome mine.
And it's like, oh, man,
that's a lot of money.
He said, well, you know,
you'll get $25,000 a month.
- In returns
from your investment.
- In return of my investment.
Then in two years,
I'll get my money back.
So I figured, man,
this is a good deal.
- Right.
- He was so convincing,
because he made it sound
like I was going to be
really wealthy.
I could do whatever I wanted.
And I basically said,
this is surreal.
I can't believe
that I can help out kids
and help kids with cancer,
kids who need help.
And so he kept on saying,
you know, "Well,
I need $50,000 right now."
So then we went across
from the Chinese restaurant
to the bank and got the first
money order for PHOP.
He told me
to make it out to that
because that's
one of his companies.
- What does that stand for?
- Powerhouse of Prayer.
- So, yes, he was a minister.
Yes.
- Minister.
Luckily, I made copies of it.
- Copies can be a lifesaver.
Let's just say Daryl's church
might offer a bit of cover
for cash flow.
But as for his paper trail,
that's got
a lifetime guarantee.
Did he give you any proof that
this diamond mine was legit?
- This is what he gave me.
This is a rock, he said,
from the chrome mine.
And I just think it's a rock
from someone's backyard.
- So he was telling you
that this rock
was from the chrome mine.
- Yeah.
- I don't know what
a chrome rock would look like.
- I don't neither.
- Right.
- He did give me
this little diamond.
He said this little diamond
was worth $40,000.
- Wow. May I see that?
- When I took that
to the jewelers,
they don't even know
what that is.
It's not even a diamond.
- So he thought if he put
one small fake diamond
that this would prove that the
diamond mine was successful?
- Yes. Yes.
- And then for the chrome mine,
he said, "You don't need
to see financials.
We rock solid. Here is a rock."
- Yep.
- Wow.
- And I told him, I said,
"This better not be fraud."
He said, "It's not."
You know, but he scammed me
out of over $500,000.
- $500,000?
- Yes.
[somber music]
♪ ♪
[upbeat jazzy music]
♪ ♪
- Daryl Harrison,
self-proclaimed
Prince of Ghana,
had the looks, the wealth,
and the online presence
to match his royal act.
For Peggy, it was like
stepping into a fairy tale,
complete with promises
of royal diamond
and chrome-mine investments
and hefty returns.
But as any storybook
can tell you,
trusting the wrong prince
can sometimes cost you
everything.
- So I kept on giving him
more and more money.
I was getting scared, because
I thought, he's a prince.
He's gonna take my house.
He's gonna take my--
everything I owned,
I worked hard for.
- So you thought because
of his power he was gonna--
- That he was gonna sue
and take everything I owned.
And so I started--
even though I shouldn't have,
I started giving him
more and more money.
He always said
money's coming my way,
but I never got it,
so I said, "I need proof."
- And usually people
will show you,
like, the financials of the
company or how it's doing.
- I kept on asking him
for financial statements.
I said, I haven't seen
no statements
from the chrome mine.
I haven't seen no statements
from the diamond mine.
It's like, in one ear
and out the other.
So then I kept on bugging him
for my money back.
Basically, I said,
you owe me $553,500.
I worked 38 years for that.
- 38 years of your life.
- Yeah. Yep.
- Hard work.
- So I said, "Why can't
I have my money back?"
And he would never answer that.
He started yelling and
screaming at me on the phone
when I was asking
for the money.
He said, "You need
to just listen to me.
You know, we're family."
He just kept on telling me that
I wasn't thinking straight.
You know, but he was
blaming everything on me.
- I've spoken to Victoria,
and it seems like control
and manipulation
are words that keep coming up.
- That's what he
was trying to do.
- I'm so sorry
for what you went through.
And did you feel you could talk
to anybody about it?
- No.
It's gonna take me a long time
to tell my family.
- Why didn't you tell them?
Do you think
they wouldn't be supportive?
You're the victim here.
- Yeah.
I know they would support me,
but I would rather them
not know.
I just kept everything in
because I was embarrassed.
Someone screwed me
out of that much money.
That's going to take me
a long time to process.
- Sorry.
- Because
I should have known better.
[somber music]
- There is no reason
to feel ashamed and embarrassed
by what happened to you.
It seems like he was
incredibly manipulative.
That's what I've gotten
from everybody about Daryl.
And he's not a good person.
- No.
- And what he did to you
wasn't good.
It's incredibly brave of you
to share this information,
because you're gonna help
a lot of people.
If someone starts to see
this type of pattern,
maybe they get out sooner,
or maybe they warn more people.
People are hiding their pain
because of embarrassment
or shame.
So thank you for sitting down
with me, Peggy.
I really appreciate it.
[gentle music]
When people think
of "fake prince" scam stories,
they tend to be comical to us.
After meeting Peggy Braun,
I am truly devastated.
This woman
has such a kind heart,
and Daryl
took advantage of it.
Oh, if I saw Daryl,
it's, come outside.
Yeah, this royal scam
has me feisty.
But if there's one thing
that'll make me feel better,
it's watching those lies
finally catch up to Daryl
and finding out
exactly how he went down.
And who better to help us
figure out if he's really
the Crown Prince of Ghana
than his biological daughter,
who he claims
is the future queen?
I think she's gonna be able to
help us figure something out.
At no point were you
like, oh, I knew there
was some royalty in my blood.
- No.
I came home one day,
and I was like,
I would like to be a princess.
- Right.
- But I know I'm not.
[dramatic music]
- Daryl, the self-proclaimed
Prince of Ghana,
swindled Peggy Braun
out of her life savings--
over half a million dollars--
with his royal investment
scheme
in diamonds and chrome mines.
But fairy tales fade,
and so did Daryl's.
It's time to unpack
the real story
of his fall from the throne,
with the help
of his biological daughter
Mercedes Bowman.
I've met a lot of people
connected to scam artists.
I've met a lot of people
who have been exploited
by scam artists.
But I have never actually met
the child of a scammer.
And I'm really interested
to know what it was like
living with a father
with so much infamy.
And if anyone can help me see
where the truth starts
and where Daryl's lies
take over
and how it helped bring
him down, it's her.
She's been crowned
with the truth.
Thank you for meeting with me.
- Thank you. Of course.
- Oh, okay, we got
some champagne glasses.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Daryl Harrison is
your biological father.
- It's crazy.
It's a roller coaster.
Yes, he was
my biological father.
But it's like--but he
wasn't really my father.
- How old were you
when he started telling you
that you were a princess?
- 13. Right off the bat, like,
when we started visits again,
that was, like, one of
the first things he mentioned.
Like, there was no stop,
collect $200, like, nothing.
Like, it was just,
"I'm a prince."
And then it was like,
"Oh, and you're princesses,
and you're princes."
Then we were like,
"Wait, what?"
Like, he really believed it.
And he really was trying
to get us to believe it.
- For Mercedes' brother,
Ryland,
he wasn't taking the crown
without a little science
to back it up.
- He traced his lineage
back to Ghana, Africa.
And between me and my sister,
we also did a DNA test as well,
just out of curiosity,
to trace our lineage.
And we had about...
So we already knew that he
wasn't even telling the truth.
We're not
itty-bitty kids anymore,
and you're not gonna fool us.
- It wasn't making sense.
It wasn't adding up.
There is no way
the man from Dayton, Ohio,
is a prince from Africa.
- Yeah.
- It's just not adding--
both: The math is not mathing.
- So I was very
- Yeah.
- Like, we caught on
to him very quickly.
It was just crazy.
- So you were skeptical
from the beginning?
- Oh, from the beginning.
- At no point were you like,
oh, I knew there was
was some royalty in my blood.
- No.
I came home one day,
and I was like,
I would like to be a princess,
but I know I'm not.
- For Mercedes,
the question wasn't
just about the royal lineage.
It was the illusion of wealth
that now came along with it.
- He's over here claiming
that he's a prince from Africa
and a CEO.
It was like, he couldn't
even pay child support.
Like, no child support.
- No child support,
but also gold mines.
- But also gold mines,
yes, so...
- No.
- No.
- I think they give
the princess some coin.
- Yes. Yes.
- I think you should
be able to pay a bill.
- Tip two.
- Right.
If Daryl had
all that royal cash,
why wasn't any of it
going to his children?
Yeah, something wasn't right.
And the something is Daryl.
- We really didn't know
how he was getting money--
driving a Dodge Viper,
Mercedes S550,
living in an upwards
of a million-dollar house.
We know he's not from Ghana.
We actually went to court
and got a new order.
We filed a motion
to reevaluate
his child-support order,
because I was married to him,
and I had two children.
So I had a right to know
what his income was.
Ended up finding out
that he was claiming
that he was making
around $10,000 a year.
But he's a prince?
I mean, it's absurd.
- Let me get this straight.
The Prince of Ghana
was claiming
to only make 11 grand a year?
Well, it didn't take long
for others to start
questioning his story.
By 2019, the Secret Service,
who investigates financial
crimes, had taken notice, too.
Investigators find
the same thing--
no legitimate source
of income.
As soon as investors' deposit,
like Peggy's,
hit in Daryl's account,
the funds were gone
within days,
used on his own
personal slush fund--
the Dodge Viper, the travel,
even rent for a house.
What was the moment where you
really kind of caught on that--
is there a possibility
that my father is a scammer?
- It wasn't adding up.
- Mm-hmm.
- And so the more we talked
about it as a family,
we started figuring out, like,
he's doing this
to get money from people.
He's doing this to get people
to trust him and believe him
and get close
and personal to him
so that he can take
what they value.
- Mercedes saw it clearly.
Daryl's prince story
was his ultimate tool--
a title that made him seem
powerful and trustworthy.
And he had
no shortage of targets--
people he met
in everyday places
just waiting to be reeled in.
- He talked to people at IHOP,
at Starbucks, at car washes,
at fitness centers,
or even at his own church.
He's finding people
who don't have the experience,
who don't know
what questions to ask,
what records to look for.
These are people who are
a little bit too trusting.
Those are the people
he's going after,
the people who might not be
as familiar with investing,
and so they just don't see
the red flags
other people might see.
- Those red flags are
always clearer in hindsight.
Over 5 years,
Daryl lured in 14 people--
a dentist, a gym receptionist,
a single mom, an engineer,
a real estate agent,
a car salesman, and a banker.
Honestly, he was just
a baker and a barber short
of setting up
his own Main Street.
And from that trail
of victims,
Daryl stole
nearly a million dollars.
Daryl's royal run
finally hit a wall in 2020.
Indicted for fraud,
he also faced
witness-tampering charges
for threatening Peggy Braun,
now a key witness
in his phony
investment scheme.
- Secret Service agents
came to my house.
He showed me two photographs.
He says,
"You know this person?"
It's like, "Yeah."
He said,
"That's Daryl Attipoe."
He said that he's scamming
people out of money.
It's like,
you got to be kidding me.
But when Daryl was found out,
he told me not to talk
to them.
"Don't talk to anyone
from Secret Service."
I said, "Why not?
I have nothing to hide."
He said,
"Don't talk to them."
I said, "I already
talked to them,"
and I recorded stuff, emails.
I gave the Secret Service
anything I had.
- Even with Daryl's attempts
to hold her back.
Peggy stepped forward.
And the tale
of the fake royal scheme
spread far beyond Dayton.
- News reaching us indicates
that Daryl Robert Harrison,
in a bizarre
investment scheme,
is currently standing trial
at a U.S. district court.
- To no one's surprise,
the world loves
a good royal scandal.
But as Daryl faces trial
and the castle walls
close in...
will this prince finally lose
his crown for good?
[distant siren wailing]
[birds chirping]
- Self-styled prince
Daryl Attipoe
swept into Dayton selling
dreams of diamond mines,
chrome riches,
and royal prosperity.
And people bought it.
In fact, 14 people were out
almost a million dollars.
But, honestly, how hard is it
to slap on a title
and make it look official?
Let's see...
Speaking of which,
let me take care
of some official business
here in Dayton.
And...
print.
Ahh.
"This certificate
hereby declares
Laci Mosley a woman of nobility
and royal descent."
Don't ask no more
questions, haters.
Yes.
Well, that was easy.
[jazzy music]
But, really...
Ahh.
The illusion
of power goes a long way.
People love authority.
And if you look the part...
maybe that's all you really
need in the land of scams.
[upbeat jazzy music]
♪ ♪
Actually, something
just feels different.
I can't quite put
my finger on it.
Afternoon, subject.
Well, I'm a princess.
- Yes,
just ask the internet.
- Good morrow to you, subject.
I've got a new attitude.
Honestly, I'm feeling
pretty powerful.
Good morrow, subject.
I bet this is exactly how
Daryl felt as Prince Attipoe.
- You have a good night.
- You have a good evening,
too, kind subject.
Powerful, unstoppable,
until reality
crashed his royal fantasy.
- A Dayton man who claimed
to be an African prince
and scammed people will spend
the next 20 years in prison.
- Despite Daryl
even calling a witness
who testified that he was also
a Ghanaian prince,
and that Daryl's story
was entirely true,
the Department of Justice
wasn't buying it.
They called him out for,
"Falsely holding himself out
to be a royal prince
from the African nation
of Ghana."
In September 2022,
Daryl was finally convicted
of fraud
and witness tampering,
earning him 20 years
in the con man's castle,
AKA prison.
Even Charlamagne Tha God
gave the story a shout-out
on his national radio show.
- Daryl Robert Harrison.
He is 44 years old,
and he was convicted
of fraud after pretending...
[chuckles]
to be a prince
from Ghana.
Please give
Daryl Robert Harrison
the sweet sounds
of The Hamiltones.
all: ♪ You are
the Donkey of the Day ♪
♪ Yee-haw ♪
- From Prince of Ghana
to Donkey of the Day,
Daryl's fall was steep.
But at sentencing, he still
had his own story to spin.
- He defended his actions
by saying it was pretty much
a big misunderstanding,
saying that there
was people that would defend
him and his character.
However, none of those people
were in the courtroom today.
[dramatic music]
- Looks like
Prince Daryl's loyal subjects
missed their cue.
So it was up to his former
family to deliver the truth.
- I'm there in the middle
of the courtroom,
and the judge even said,
you have shown no remorse.
You have not tried to pay
anyone back for your deeds.
And for that,
I believe you deserve
the maximum amount by law,
which is 20 years
in federal prison.
I felt some sort of relief.
- Daryl's royal reign
is finally over.
He's even got a new title--
prison number 66792-509.
And his new crown jewels--
quite the statement.
- So I have this little token
from the federal trial.
- He's been convicted.
- He was convicted.
And then
the Secret Service agent
that was working the case--
he hands me these.
And these came off of Daryl.
- Wow, Victoria.
- He should have left me alone,
I'm telling you.
- We don't play.
- No.
But this is such
a great reminder
for all of the victims
in this case.
This is justice right here.
- In that group
of Daryl's victims,
one voice stands out--
Peggy Braun,
Daryl's biggest victim.
She helped
hold him accountable.
But being a hero
came with heavy cost
way beyond the financial.
- He's a thief.
He's a con artist--
everything but a prince.
You know, I won't have
the money I did,
but it's not gonna change
my life.
I'm still working.
I love to work.
But he should be in jail
for a lifetime.
- Just another con man
in a world full of them.
Wow.
We all want to trust
success and power,
and scammers know it.
Greetings, my royal subjects!
The princess has arrived.
Would you like to make
an investment?
That next
too-good-to-be-true deal
might be closer
than you think.
I'm a princess.
Google me.
Ooh, tag me in that
on the Instagram.
So I'll be here to dethrone
these fraudsters
one con at a time.
Queen of Busting Scams--
long may she reign.
Welcome to our World! Where we serve you cookies to ensure you get the best viewing experience on our site.
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register