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As the years went by, contributors started asking when they were going to see the huge returns that had been promised. They were put off with a variety of clever excuses about the frequent change in Ghanaian governments and snags in getting the special passport. Finally, Attorney Ginsberg went to the D.A.'s office.
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 maintains that the trust is legitimate, saying, "I still have faith that the long-suffering investors will be compensated."
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 in the chamber myself." A number of other overeager investors may share that sentiment.