Ghana defender Samuel Inkoom has been sued for damages in excess of $65,000 for being in debt to his landlord during his time with DC United, one of the biggest newspapers in the world, the Washington Post, has revealed.
Curtis Paul Willette, of Front Royal, Va is seeking $65,316.01 in damages from the 25-year-old in a suit that also enjoins his wife, Omega.
The former FC Basel man was signed by DC United in September 2014 but was three months later traded to Houston Dynamo in a deal which eventually fell through over the failure of the club and the player to agree on personal terms.
It is unclear whether Inkoom continued to live in the residence of contention but according to documents filed in Arlington Circuit Court on Tuesday, Willette claims Inkoom owes $11,685 in unpaid rent and late fees from February 2015 to April 2015.
The monthly rent of $3,795 will continue to accrue through October.
The right-back is also being accused of damaging the property for which he is being charged $37,032.01 to repair damage plus miscellaneous costs associated with the abandonment - suggesting that Inkoom later moved out of the house.
The suit further claims the property located in South Monroe Street near Columbia Pike suffered “extensive wastewater damage and other damage” after Inkoom mounted a TV onto the wall of the living room and “punctured a sewer waste line causing sewage leaks and backups to infiltrate the walls and floors.”
He goes on to further say he is in no position to afford repairing the damages suffered on all three levels of the house without new rental opportunities and for that matter might end up selling the property.
Willete claims he made attempts in February to contact Inkoom after missing an extension to pay his rent but then the Ghanaian's phone registered no service.
His real estate agent who first inspected the facility according to the complainant reported: "There is a major problem here" and that trash was strewn around the home and two-car garage.
When he toured the property himself, Willete said: “I couldn’t believe it. It was just ruined.”
Inkoom, who was in Ghana's squad for the World Cup finals in 2010 and 2014 signed a contract to play for DC United in September 2014 in a deal which according to reports was to earn him $103,875 annually.
He is currently a free agent after failing to seal a move to Houston Dynamo having failed to agree on personal terms after being traded to the club.
Source: Washington Post, Steven Goff