Businessman Dragged To Court Over GH¢700,000 Fraud

Villey Acheampong, a businessman who has been charged for allegedly defrauding by false pretense a colleague has been granted a GH¢700, 000 bail by an Accra Circuit Court.

Acheampong allegedly took the money under the pretext of selling to his colleague a six-bedroom building at Baatsona, near Accra.

Unknown to the complainant, Acheampong had already sold the building to another person, and had also used the title documents of the said building to procure loans from some financial institutions.

Charged, Acheampong pleaded not guilty.

The court admitted Acheampong to bail in the sum of GH¢700,000 with two sureties, one of whom is to be justified with landed property.

The title deed of the said property, the court said, should be deposited at the Court’s Registry pending the final determination of the case.

The trial has been adjourned to April 27, this year.

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Sophia Asiedu who held the brief of Assistant Emmanuel Nyamekye said the complainant (name withheld) is a businessman who lives at Teshie, Accra.

She said the accused is also reside at Baatsona- Spintex, Accra.

Prosecution said during the month of February 2020, accused advertised his six-bedroom uncompleted house at Baatsona-Spintex for sale through an Estate Agent, known as Kwadwo Owusu, a witness in the case.

The prosecution said the complainant together with the witness and the accused agreed on GH¢820,000 as price for the sale of the building.

According to the prosecution the complainant made payments to the accused and some to the witness of which the accused issued receipts for the payments totaling GHC700,000 leaving a balance of GH¢120,000.

She said the complainant became alarmed when the accused sent him a message that he has sold the same building to another buyer butd failed to refund the complainant’s money.

Prosecution said on October 27, 2021, the Director-General, Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service was petitioned of which investigations commenced.

She said on November 2, 2021, the accused was arrested and in his investigative cautioned statement, he said that he borrowed the said GH¢700,000 from the complainant but he could not give any tangible reason as to why he issued receipts to that effect.

When asked to produce the original documents of the house, the accused failed.

Prosecution said investigations at the Lands Commission indicated that the said land was registered in the name of one Kwadwo Adjei.