Fake Immigration Service Recruiter Gets 3 Years Imprisonment

A self-styled businessman has been thrown into jail for three years for defrauding a trader in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

Frank Jerry Osei, who plies his trade in Kumasi is said to have defrauded Eva Gyansah to the tune of GH¢3,000 under the pretence of securing a position for her daughter in the Ghana Immigration Service.

He was sentenced by the Bekwai Circuit Court after he pleaded guilty to the charges of defrauding by false pretense and impersonation.

Facts
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Francis Osei Boateng, said the victim is a trader who sells roasted pork at Trede Junction near Bekwai in the Ashanti Region, while the accused person claims to be a businessman, resident at Bekwai.

In May 2017, the complainant together with her daughter who assists her in selling were going about their normal duties when Osei approached them and enquired from her daughter what she did for a living.

Ms Gyansah told Osei that her daughter had completed Senior High School (SHS) and was assisting her with the business to raise money to further her education.

Osei then introduced himself as the District Police Commander of Bekwai, and that as the head of the district, he had slots to enlist four persons into the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), and would give one slot to the complainant's daughter.

He (Osei) later took the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) result slip, birth certificate and passport pictures of the complainant's daughter, as well as GH¢3,000, which he termed as protocol processing fee.

He also made Gyansah's daughter undergo a medical screening and gave her a list of items to be bought for training, as well as a date on which she was expected to report for training.

According to Mr Boateng, Ms Gyansah said after the time given them by Osei had elapsed and they had not heard from him, she attempted to reach him on his phone, but it was switched off and his whereabouts were unknown.

After several attempts to reach him were unsuccessful, she reported to the district police headquarters to enquire about the progress of her daughter's enlistment into the GIS, only to be told that Osei was not the District Commander, neither was he a police officer.

Arrest
She then reported the matter to the police for investigation, after which Osei was apprehended months later.

During the interrogation, Osei admitted to the offences and confessed in the presence of independent witnesses.

He further stated in his caution statement that he had not attended any police training school whatsoever.

After investigations, he was charged and put before the court, presided over by Justice Frederick Arnold Wekem Kwesi Nawurah, who found him guilty on his own plea.

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