By Dorphina Ansah
Accra, Aug. 18, GNA – An Accra Circuit Court has granted a GH₵ 200,000.00 bail with three sureties each to two persons over an alleged fraud.
The accused persons: Benjamin Mensah and Christopher Appiah Wood were said to have jointly collected GH₵218,802.57 from Omar Alkathcri under false pretense.
They were charged with two counts of defrauding which they pleaded not guilty.
The court presided over by Mrs Ellen Ofei-Ayeh ordered that one of the sureties must be justified with landed property.
The Trial Judge also ordered the accused persons to deposit one passport-sized photograph of themselves to the court registrar.
The case has been adjourned to September 18, 2023.
Prosecution led by Chief Inspector Samuel Ahiabor told the court that the complainant in the case was a businessman, domiciled in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), whilst the accused persons were unemployed and lived at Komenda in the Central Region.
The prosecution said in 2022, the complainant was contacted online by someone, who identified herself as Dorcas Johnson, a citizen of UAE, who had travelled to Ghana to buy Gold.
It said the supposed Dorcas told the complainant that she had bought the Gold and had run out of money and that her visa card had also expired.
She said she could not access money to pay her bills and pleaded with the complainant to send her some money, promising to reward him with a weight in Gold when she returned to UAE, prosecutors said.
The complainant was convinced, hence, sent United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED) 1000.00 equivalent to GHC1,902.11 To her. Dorcas Johnson told the complainant that she was staying in Congress Hotel on the Spintex Road in Accra.
She then told the complainant that redrawing money through Western Union and Mobile money transfer was a bit difficult for her as a foreigner and therefore asked complainant to send money to the hotel workers to redraw for her.
Prosecution said she kept changing the names and phone numbers of people who she claimed were working in the hotel where she was staying as the complainant kept sending money to them amounting to GHC218, 802.57 for her.
It said, it got to a point where the accused stopped communicating with the complainant and when the complainant called other numbers given to him by the said Dorcas, no one answered.
The prosecution said the complainant then realized that he had been defrauded hence he travelled to Ghana and lodged a complaint at the Osu Police station.
It said investigation revealed that Mensah and Wood who were behind the name Dorcas Johnson were tracked to Komenda.
The prosecution said Mensah and Wood failed to assist the Police to arrest their accomplices and denied them access to their phones which contained credible evidence.
It said an order to search the phones and laptops of Mensah and Wood was obtained to retrieve more evidence. Accused persons were charged with two counts of Conspiracy to commit crime to wit, defrauding.
GNA