By Gifty Amofa
Accra, Jan. 3, GNA – The Accra Circuit Court Nine has remanded 35-year-old trader Benjamin Appiah Boateng into police custody for allegedly defrauding two individuals of USD300,000 and GHC10,445,000 through fraudulent online investments.
Boateng reportedly took the funds from Mr. Berry Kwadwo Agyapong and Mr. David Burke by promising to invest them in UDST and Binance cryptocurrency platforms.
His plea was not taken, as he is under investigation for stealing and fraud.
Presiding over the case, Mr. Samuel Bright Acquah ordered Boateng to appear in court again on January 13, 2025.
Police Chief Inspector Jonas Lawer informed the court that both complainants, Mr. Burke, a businessman, and Mr. Agyapong, a business consultant, reside in Accra.
Boateng, a trader from Oyibi, was introduced to Mr. Burke by Mr. Agyapong as a Forex trader who specialized in online investments in UDST and cryptocurrency.
At the time of the introduction, Mr. Agyapong had already invested approximately USD300,000 in UDST and Binance.
Mr. Agyapong convinced Mr. Burke of the investment’s profitability and steady dividend returns, leading Mr. Burke to invest an initial sum of GHC555,000.
Subsequently, Mr. Burke gave an additional GHC9,890,000 to Boateng to further increase the investment.
According to Chief Inspector Lawer, Boateng assured both complainants that the investments were progressing well and that dividends were being paid out as promised.
However, on December 14, 2024, Mr. Burke requested to end the investment, asking for the return of his total capital and any available dividends.
The court heard that upon Mr. Burke’s request to end the investments, Boateng stopped answering phone calls from both complainants.
This led Mr. Burke to contact Mr. Agyapong about the accused’s behavior.
When Mr. Agyapong called Boateng to inquire why he had been ignoring their calls, Boateng reportedly sent a WhatsApp voice note along with a purported suicide note.
In the note, Boateng claimed that he had gambled away their entire investments on an online gambling platform called “Stake.”
A report was made to the police, which led to Boateng’s arrest.
During questioning, he admitted to the offenses.
GNA