Farmer In Trouble For GH¢60,000 Fraud

The Agona Swedru Magistrate Court has remanded into prison custody Kofi Shadrack, a farmer, for defrauding by false pretence of selling one gold bar valued at GH¢ 100,000 claimed to have been found in his brother's farm.

Shadrack's plea was not taken by the Court presided over Mr Isaac Appiatu would be re-appeared in court on 24 November, 2017.

Kwame Amoaquandoh, unemployed, and an accomplice in the case, is now at large and has been declared wanted by the Mankrong- Junction Police.

The accused and his accomplice have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime and defrauding by false pretence.

Prosecuting, Sergeant Clare Salia told the court that the complaint is also a farmer and resides at Mankrong-Junction whiles the accused and other accomplice reside at same Mankrong-Junction and Agona Otwakwaa respectively.

He said on 10th February, 2016, the accused went to the complaint and told him that his brother Kwame Amoquandoh has found seven pieces of gold bars on his farm and would like to sell them, but that a spiritualist has cautioned that unless some rites are performed the gold could not be sold.

With this the accused collected GH¢ 35,000 from the complainant to pay the spiritualist to cleanse the gold before one bar valued at GH¢ 100,000 could be sold to him.

The prosecution said on 12th February, 2016, the complainant gave the accused person GH¢ 35,000 cash, hoping to get one gold bar as promised by the accused.

Sgt Salia said that on 18th February, 2016, the accused led Amoquandoh, now at large, to introduce him as the one who has found seven gold bars in his farm.

The prosecution said the accused told the complainant that the first spiritualist had failed them and that he, the accused, has found another spiritualist who was demanding another GH¢ 25,000 in addition to the first GH¢ 35,000 collected from him.

The Prosecution said the duo assured the complainant that he will get his one gold bar immediately after the cleansing is done.

Sgt Salia told the court that the accused and his accomplice succeeded in collecting GH¢ 25,000 from the complainant and went into hiding.

She said all efforts by the complainant to locate the accused person and his accomplice proved futile, adding that the complainant could not contact them on their mobile phones since they had switched them off.

The prosecution said the complaint made report to the Mankrong-Junction Police and on 29 November, 2017, the accused was seen at Kasoa- Nyanyano and was arrested.

Sgt Salia told the court that investigations revealed that the accused and his accomplice had collected a total sum of GH¢ 60,000 from the complainant between February and April 2016, but failed to produce a gold bar claimed to have been found in the farm.

GNA