Real Estate Agents defraud marketing officer

Accra, Jan 12, GNA - Mr Justice P. K. Aggrey, a High Court Judge sitting as an additional Circuit Court Judge on Monday granted three real estate agents 20 million-cedi bail each when they were put before him on charges of conspiracy to commit crime and defrauding by false pretences.

The three, Francisca Ofori-Atta, Carl Barnor and Philip Boateng, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, succeeded in collecting 7,200 dollars from Mr Eddy Blay, a Marketing Officer, under the pretext of renting out a house at Osu in Accra to him.

The Court issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Opoku Gyamfi, an accomplice for failing to appear before it.

It also ordered that another accomplice, Dickson Alex Quaye, in Police custody at the Kaneshie Police Station, be released to stand trial on the next adjourned date Thursday, January 29.

The case for the Prosecution was that in November 2003 the accused persons made a publication in the Daily Graphic to the effect that they had accommodation to rent out.

Mr Blay, who was in dire need of accommodation, contacted the accused persons through their telephone numbers in the publication. The Prosecution said after succeeding in taking the money from Mr Blay at a house in Gbawe, they promised to give him the keys to the house the following day, but they failed and vanished into thin air and went into hiding.

It said the five were later arrested from their hideout after Mr Blay had reported the matter to the Police.

At the Court luck ran out for Boateng because soon after the case had been adjourned, he was re-arrested and placed in Police custody for allegedly defrauding another person of 17.2 million cedis under the pretext of renting out a room to him.