Published: September 27, 2024
Monrovia – A 25-year-old man, Alonso Gray, has been arrested and charged with multiple offenses including forgery and impersonation, after allegedly attempting to fraudulently claim a U.S. Diversity Visa designated for his deceased brother, Morris Jamie Gray.
According to the Liberia National Police, Alonso conspired with his sister-in-law, Kakun Pabah Gray, the widow of Morris, to attend the Diversity Visa (DV) interview at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia under false pretenses. Alonso purportedly impersonated his brother, using Morris’s winning entry from the 2023 DV program.
The police report indicated that Alonso and Kakun were charged with crimes such as forgery, obtaining or issuing deceptive writing, impersonating an official, criminal facilitation, and criminal conspiracy. Investigations revealed that Alonso prepared all required documents, including a passport, high school diploma, and marriage certificate in his late brother’s name. He then presented himself and Kakun as a legally married couple to the embassy officials.
Further inquiries by the police found that the fake couple had enlisted the help of Abraham Sheriff, an internet café operator, who allegedly provided them with the necessary documents for their fraudulent application.
The investigation also uncovered that Kakun financed the fraudulent scheme, paying $2,000 to Mohammad Kanneh, who is currently at large, to facilitate their attachment to the case. Despite warnings from Morris’s mother, Maima Annie Coleman, who informed Kakun that Alonso was not the rightful DV winner, the plan proceeded.
Authorities noted a crucial discrepancy that led to the unraveling of the scheme: the photograph submitted by Morris for the DV program, stored in the Kentucky Washington D.C. system, did not match Alonso’s appearance, further implicating the suspects in the fraudulent act.
The case continues to develop as police search for additional suspects involved in the scheme.
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