A 48-year-old Reverend Minster, Edward Buabeng has been sentenced to serve an eight-year jail term by the Circuit Court in Accra after he was found guilty of 173 charges including defrauding by false pretense.
Rev. Buabeng, and two others were charged together with the offences of conspiracy and defrauding by false pretenses involving an amount said to be over some $46,000 investment.
In addition to his eight-year custodial sentence, the court presided over by Her Honour Mrs Evelyn Asamoah said he should refund the principal sum with its accrued interest after his sentence.
The punishment the court said should serve as a deterrent and to sanitise the system.
Wilfred Brown, an accountant who was the second accused was acquitted and discharged after full trial while a third accused said to be Andrew des-Bordes Mends, a businessman, is at large. They had earlier pleaded not guilty.
Chief Inspector Benson Benneh told the court that, the complainant John Osei Safo Kumi and his wife Brenda Adolphine Appiah are marketer and banker respectively and reside at Dansoman.
He said, the three accused persons are Pastor, an accountant and a businessman respectively and all live in Dansoman.
Chief Inspector Benneh told the court that, during the month of July 2018, the complainant and his wife invested cash sum of $7,000.00 and $6,000.00 respectively at the Career Link Markets Company Limited in Dansoman owned by the accused for a three month period with a 40% interest per month.
The Prosecutor said the investment matured at the end of October, 2018 but the company failed to refund neither the principal nor the interest to them.
He told the court that efforts made to retrieve the money proved futile and the accused went into hiding whilst a formal complaint was lodged at the Dansoman Police Station.
The Prosecutor said subsequently, more customers numbering over hundred who also invested various sums of money amounting to 1,193.136 ghana cedis and $ 185.408 with the company came to lodge a similar complaint against the accused person.
Chief Inspector Benneh said, the three accused persons were arrested and detained for investigation and admitted the offence in their caution statement and stated that they have enough funds to refund to their customers. But have since failed to honour their promises.
The Prosecutor said, further investigations however revealed that the company, even though it is registered at the Registrar General’s Department, was not given a license by the Security Exchange Commission to operate such a business.
“During investigation cash the sum of GHc115,000.00 was brought by the accused persons and the same was disbursed for the first two complaints and six (6) others,” the Prosecutor noted.
They were then charged with the offences and brought before this honourable court.
Source: Kasapafmonline.com/Murtala Inusah
