[caption id="attachment_589722" align="alignleft" width="300"]
An image of Joseph Nantomah shown on his website.[/caption]
A Milwaukee man who claims he is a real estate investor, life coach and entrepreneur is accused of stealing over $300,000 from clients who made payments to his real estate investment group.
Joseph Nantomah is a self-proclaimed “millionaire investor from Africa” who has built real estate assets valued at over $23 million, according to his website. He claims to own and operate 16 businesses.
Nantomah, who refers to himself as “The Black Mentor,” is active on several social media accounts, including Instagram and Facebook. He is accused of using these platforms to solicit investments.
A lawsuit filed this week in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin accuses Nantomah of securities fraud.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of city of Milwaukee residents
Tomas Matos and
Jeannie Berry-Matos.
Nantomah is the owner and principal of Milwaukee-based
Investors Capital LLC, a property services company. The business is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau and has garnered three customer complaints over the last two years, which were filed with the BBB.
Nantomah solicits investments from clients through presentations, seminars and social media. He promises clients guaranteed returns within a specific timeframe if they invest with his company, according to the lawsuit. Nantomah says he makes these returns by acquiring properties and later flipping them for profit.
In June 2022, the Matos family was promised $80,000 in returns within seven months if they invested into Investors Capital. Nantomah promised the couple a property at 1816 N. St. in Milwaukee would be renovated and sold as part of an investment agreement.
"Ms. (Onyeka) Nantomah utilized her position as a licensed real estate broker at EXP Realty in Milwaukee to access vacant properties, which Mr. Nantomah then represented to investors as his own legally owned properties," according to the complaint.
As part of their investment agreement, the Matos family claims they invested $60,000 in June 2022. After signing a second investment agreement with Nantomah, the couple invested another $65,000 in January 2023.
"From January 2023 to the present date, (the Matos family has) attempted to reach out to Mr. Nantomah, urging him to fulfill the promised return on his investment. However, Mr. Nantomah persistently offered excuses to the plaintiffs regarding the delay in receiving their investment return," according to the complaint.
Tomas and Jeannie Berry-Matos are not the only people looking to recover the money they invested in Nantomah’s business.
In April,
Oluwafemi Adeosun, a resident of New York, filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Nantomah after he allegedly accepted a payment of $80,000 to flip a home in Slinger. Adeosun also entered into a second investment agreement with Nantomah and paid him another $45,000.
Chimkama Ibe, a Texas resident, filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Nantomah last month. She alleges she paid Nantomah $100,000 to flip the aforementioned property in Slinger. She entered into a second investment agreement with Nantomah via the messaging app WhatsApp, paying an additional $15,000.
Yet another couple claims they were also scammed by Nantomah.
Nora Anyanwu and
Emmanuel Anyanwu, residents of Illinois, allegedly paid him $110,000.
In all the cases filed against Nantomah, the plaintiffs claim they have not been reimbursed “a single dollar.”
“Nantomah frequently claimed that he was in the process of coordinating with his bank to facilitate the payments, but these payments remained unfulfilled,” according to court documents.
BizTimes Media reached out to Nantomah via email and phone. He did not respond to an email request for comment. After calling the number listed on his website, a person picked up and said the number was incorrect before hanging up.
