Samuel Inkoom sued $65,000 by landlord

Samuel Inkoom’s former landlord is suing the Ghanaian defender for unpaid rent and wrecking the place. Total being sought: just over $65,000.

The former D.C. United player — and two-time member of Ghana’s World Cup squads — is being sued by his landlord for more than $65,000 for failing to pay rent and causing extensive damage to an Arlington property.

Curtis Paul Willette, of Front Royal, Va., is seeking damages in the amount of $65,316.01 from Inkoom and his wife, Omega. The 25-year-old defender-midfielder joined United on Sept. 5 and appeared in two MLS matches and three CONCACAF Champions League games.

In December, facing roster issues ahead of the league’s expansion draft, United packaged Inkoom to Houston as part of a multi-player trade. He did not reach contract terms with the Dynamo and is a free agent.

According to documents filed in Arlington Circuit Court on Tuesday, Willette claimed 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.

In addition, the suit alleges, the estimated cost to repair damage to the property plus miscellaneous costs associated with the abandonment is $37,032.01.

The suit claims the property 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.”

In an interview Wednesday, Willette said the house, on South Monroe Street near Columbia Pike, is “uninhabitable and unshowable” to rent. “It smells horrible.”

Willette, who purchased the three-year-old home for $790,000, said he cannot afford to make immediate repairs to damage suffered on all three levels of the house and, without new rental opportunities, might have to sell the property.

In February, Willette said he offered Inkoom an extension on a missed rent payment. Two weeks later, after not receiving it, Willette said he attempted to call him, but the player’s cell phone was no longer in service.

Willette’s real estate agent was first to inspect the property. “He told me, ‘There is a major problem here,’ ” said Willette, adding that trash was strewn around the home and two-car garage.

When he saw it for himself, Willette said, “I couldn’t believe it. It was just ruined.”

Neither Inkoom nor his Virginia-based attorney immediately replied to separate requests for comment.

Inkoom appeared in two matches for Ghana at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and did not receive any playing time at last summer’s tournament in Brazil. Before MLS, he played on the club level in Switzerland, Ukraine, France and Greece. On an annual scale, his 2014 contract with United was worth $103,875.

Source: Washington Post