Monrovia — The Chief Executive Officer of Spoon FM and Online TV, Stanton Witherspoon, has broken his silence less than 24 hours after an indictment by New Jersey Justice Department over wire fraud.
Witherspoon and more than two dozen individuals have been charged in the Southern District of Florida for their alleged participation in a wire fraud scheme that created an illegal licensing and employment shortcut for aspiring nurses.
According to three recently unsealed indictments returned by a South Florida federal grand jury and two informations filed by federal prosecutors, they engaged in a scheme to sell fraudulent nursing degree diplomas and transcripts obtained from accredited Florida-based nursing schools to individuals seeking licenses and jobs as registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical/vocational nurses.
Breaking his silence Thursday evening, Witherspoon posted to his Facebook page, saying: "A very heavy heart, I bring you greetings today. Despite all we have heard about my challenges, I feel a sense of obligation to address you all today," he said.
"However, I certainly hope that we can all appreciate that I am restricted from going into additional details beyond this, for now, on the expressed advice and instructions of my legal team."
"While I am very aware of your desire to get even more details on these charges, I can only appeal to you all to let the investigation and legal process play out. While temptation pushes me to address this matter in far more detail, I have to abide by my legal team's instructions."
"My friends and fellow Liberians,
to those of you, who out of humanity, decency, and sheer kindness, whether you vehemently disagree with me or not, have reached out with messages of encouragement, publicly rejected the condemnation, or just remembered me and my family in your prayers, I thank God for the better angels that you are and wish you all well. I only ask for your continued prayers and encouragement for my family and me."
Mixed reactions have trailed Witherspoon's indictment, with many Liberians offering him their prayers, while others want him to face justice if quilty.
Jethro Emmanuel Kolleh, a member of the opposition All Liberian Party, reacted to a post on Facebook, saying: "I knew this was on its way. We are hopeful that he's free from this. He's a guy with good heart. He's helped many good friends. I am in solidarity with him.However, his outburst on JNB then has brought him under the spotlight. Wow!"
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Mandela Gbollie, a Liberia, said: "The thing about the United States of America is, once you start to spend loosely, they'll certainly authenticate your income to determine if it's legit! The late Dr. Daniel Cassell was an example for all Liberians! From the way this Spoon CEO has been dashing money, I knew exactly that; something wasn't right about his income! This is totally unsurprising to me! Nobody will truly labour for his money and be dashing it anyhow! Now you just invite detective on your life! It's gonna be a tough case! But I'm not surprise either! The USA doesn't joke with money issues, if your income isn't clean like my own, sit down one place and stop inviting undue public attention!"
