Valour Sport, the company supplying uniforms for Australia's Commonwealth Games team, has removed promotional material featuring George Mensah, a model accused of stealing over $600,000 from an elderly man suffering from dementia. The company stated it was unaware of the accusations against Mensah.
Brothers George Mensah, 22, and Jesse Mensah, 25, were arrested last week following an investigation by the NSW State Crime Command's Financial Crimes Squad. Police allege the siblings engaged in a campaign of cold-calling potential victims, eventually targeting an 88-year-old man from Paddington last year. The brothers allegedly posed as Commonwealth Bank staff, securing access to the man's online accounts and credit card over the course of a year. During this period, they are accused of stripping the man of his life savings, spending more than $600,000 on shares and transferring funds to themselves and others.
George Mensah has been charged with two counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime. Jesse Mensah faces charges of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime, and failing to comply with a digital evidence access order direction.
Daily Mail reported that George Mensah, a sprinter and model, was until recently featured in an advertising campaign for Valour Sport, wearing uniforms intended for Australian athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Photographs of Mensah were removed from the company's website after inquiries were made.
'Valour Sport was unaware of the accusations against Mr George Mensah,' the company said in a statement. 'Imagery of Mr George Mensah has been removed from all campaigns. The charges are a matter for Mr George Mensah and NSW Police.'
George Mensah is reportedly studying criminology, while his brother Jesse works as a youth worker. Their solicitor, Abdul Saddik, told the Daily Mail that his clients would be defending the charges. He suggested that a larger fraud operation might be underway, stating, 'It is our view that there is a much bigger fraud in the background happening that is beyond the scope of our clients.' Police confirmed that the investigation is ongoing and they are searching for two additional alleged offenders.
The NSW Financial Crimes Squad established Strike Force Borlase in 2025 to investigate the Mensah brothers. Detectives executed a search warrant on a unit in Yagoona on July 1, arresting the pair. Commander of the Financial Crimes Squad, Detective Superintendent Gordan Arbinja, described the alleged actions as 'an appalling betrayal of a vulnerable member of our community,' adding that targeting vulnerable people represented 'the apex of offending.'
Detective Superintendent Arbinja commended the Commonwealth Bank for reimbursing the elderly victim for all the money lost. He noted that investigators acted swiftly upon identifying suspicious activity on the man's bank accounts. 'This man was completely exploited and stripped of all his wealth,' Arbinja said.
The Mensah brothers appeared before Acting Judge John Favretto and were granted bail on identical conditions, requiring them to reside at separate addresses, find a guarantor to forfeit $100,000 if bail conditions are breached, report to police twice daily, surrender their passports, and remain within New South Wales. They are also prohibited from going within 500 meters of any international departure point, must not contact each other or prosecution witnesses except through their lawyers, and are limited to possessing one mobile phone without encrypted communication apps. They are also restricted in the amount of currency they can possess and are only permitted to leave their residences for specific legal or medical appointments. The brothers are scheduled to appear next at Burwood Local Court on August 12.