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Ablakwa’s “episode 2” exposé on National Cathedral a hoax says Secretariat

The Secretariat has vehemently denied the accusations, branding them as distortions, misinformation, disinformation and a hoax

The National Cathedral of Ghana Secretariat has come forward to challenge the recent allegations made by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, regarding identity theft within the National Cathedral Foundation.

The Secretariat has vehemently denied the accusations, branding them as distortions, misinformation, disinformation and a hoax.

Ablakwa’s claims were made in his latest release titled ‘National Cathedral Scandals – America Edition,’ where he accused the Secretariat of engaging in identity theft during the registration process of the National Cathedral Foundation in the United States.

In response to these allegations, the Secretariat issued a statement on Thursday, May 4, 2023, stating that Ablakwa’s findings were nothing more than a distortion of facts. They highlighted that the MP deliberately manipulated information from the registration documents to support his claims.

“In arriving at this so-called identity theft, the MP distorts information on the registration documents by taking the Taxpayer ID number: 86-3859197 (Appendix 1) and disingenuously changes it to the social security number, SSN: 863-85-9197 belonging to a deceased named, Jose Salgado (Appendix 2). He then proceeds to accuse the National Cathedral of using the ‘stolen’ identity of the deceased to register,” clarified the Secretariat.

The Secretariat further emphasized the distinction between the Taxpayer ID number and the Social Security number, asserting that they are separate identifiers issued for different purposes. They highlighted that Ablakwa’s intentional misrepresentation of these numbers led to his baseless accusations of identity theft against the National Cathedral.

This isn’t the first time Ablakwa has made allegations against the National Cathedral project. The Secretariat described his modus operandi as a series of distortions, intended to mislead the public and tarnish the reputation of the project.

“Our consistent argument has been that the National Cathedral Project has been implemented with integrity, and with no criminality. As with the recklessly-populist and reputationally-damaging accusations of the McCarthy era in the USA, the misinformation and distortions on the National Cathedral project will – ultimately – unravel!” stated the Secretariat, referring to the historical period known for unfounded allegations and distortions.

The Secretariat concluded their response by suggesting that Ablakwa’s allegations of identity theft were just the beginning of his campaign against the National Cathedral project. They expressed confidence that the truth would prevail, and that the project’s integrity would withstand scrutiny.

Claims by Ablakwa

The North Tongu lawmaker took to his Facebook wall and wrote as follows; “Identity theft is considered a very serious federal crime in the United States of America. The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 (ITADA), which amended Title 18 of the United States Code (18 U.S.C. § 1028) to include specific provisions related to identity theft is a really dreaded law”.

“Many have been convicted for the crime of identity theft in cases where they have wrongfully acquired another person’s Personal Identifying Information for fraud or deception for economic gain.

“Personal Identifying Information include: Social Security Numbers, Credit Card Information, Driver’s License Numbers, Bank Account and PINs and Birth or Death Certificates.
“Under ITADA, it is a federal crime to knowingly transfer or use, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law, or a felony under any applicable state or local law.
“Only last week, a woman from Trinidad and Tobago was sentenced in Miami to a combined period of some 5 years for her role in the submission of fraudulent loan applications seeking more than $9.2 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
“It has now been established by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a consumer protection agency in the US that identity theft reports in 2020 were more than triple the number from 2018. Cases reached 1,387,615 in 2020; 650,523 in 2019; and 444,344 in 2018.
“Its 2022 data is still high at 1.1million reports of identity theft. This has been largely due to nefarious schemes to lay hands on the trillions of dollars the US government made available for COVID-19 relief.
“Painstaking and unimpeachable investigations shockingly reveal that the March 2021 incorporation of the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc in Washington, D.C. was criminally executed through IDENTITY THEFT.
“By an intercepted IRS tax exempt letter dated December 13, 2021 — I can confirm that the Employer ID Number for the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc is: 86-3859197.
“Further irrefutable forensic investigations reveal that the Social Security Number of: 863-85-9197 used to generate the Cathedral’s Employer ID Number belongs to one Jose Salgado.
“Deeper investigations and impregnable gold-standard validation which include a report from police database has established that 31 year-old Jose Salgado who has many aliases including Jose Luis Delapaz, Jose Isabel Salgado, Jose Luis Paz and Jose L De was born in March 1983 and died on September 17, 2014.
“It has therefore emerged beyond any scintilla of doubt that the Social Security Number of a deceased young male Hispanic who died 9 years ago was fraudulently used to incorporate Ghana’s national cathedral in Washington, D.C.
“Clearly, it seems those responsible for this gross international embarrassment knew Jose Salgado’s death was yet to be formally reported to all the relevant US authorities and decided to take dubious but costly advantage.
“Unfortunately for Dr. Vernon Darko and Eric Okyere Darko, the statement issued by the National Cathedral Secretariat dated May 2, 2023 appears to implicate them in this latest super explosive scandal when Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah wrote:
“One of the requirements for the incorporation is to have a US social security number. The two alleged faceless individuals provided the needed legal documentation to enable the registration to be completed.
“It’s purely incredulous that these grave crimes would be associated to the building of the Lord’s Temple. Regardless of the sharp rise in Identity Theft in the US, it is most unimaginable and absolutely sacrilegious that the incorporation of God’s Temple would be so desecrated.
“At the very least, the criminal masterminds should have considered the reputations of the genuine eminent priests who accepted government’s invitation to serve as Board of Trustees.

Wilberforce Asare

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