An Accra Circuit Court presided over by Her Honour, Mrs. Malike Awo Woanyah Dey has sentenced a banker, Clifford Kyei Baffour, and an electrician, Padmore Mensah alias Joseph Adjebu Blankson, alias Francis Buah, to five and ten years imprisonment respectively.
The two were charged with conspiracy, abetment, and defrauding by false pretence.
The facts of the case are that the Complainant, Fares Aki is a Lebanese born Ghanaian industrialist and the Managing Director of Qualiplast Company situated at Avenor-Accra.
In May 2014, the Complainant who needed a house to buy was approached by an estate agent who introduced him to the 1st Accused person, Padmore Mensah, who he claimed had a two storey building situated at the Airport Residential Area for sale.
The 1st Accused person made the Complainant believe that he was selling the house due to the ailment of his son in London, then conspired with a suspect, one Charles (now at large), to prepare fake documents covering the said house making the 1st Accused person the legitimate owner and priced it at US$600, 000 (GH₵2,000,000).
The 1st Accused person and the said Charles, then handed over the documents to the Complainant and his lawyer to authenticate its genuineness and they later found it to be genuine.
The Complainant issued two Ecobank cheques with the face value of GH₵500,000.00 each to be cashed by the 1st Accused, person who claimed to be the owner, as part payment and gave his name to the Complainant as Francis Kwamina Bush.
On receipt of the cheques, the 1st Accused person and the said Charles, contacted another suspect Kwaku Yeboah (at large) who introduced them to Mr. Clifford Kyei Baffour Antwi, the bank manager at the Sefwi Essan branch of the Agricultural Development Bank, (ADB) , where the 1st Accused person opened a bank account and lodged the cheques.
Three days after, the 1st Accused person and suspects, Kwaku Yeboah and Willie (at large), travelled to Sefwi Essan. Mr. Kyei Baffour Antwi, issued a counter cheque to the 1st Accused person instead of his personal cheque, which enabled him to withdraw all the money from the account. They  shared it among themselves, with the 1st Accused person getting GH₵100, 000.00
The Complainant later went to take occupancy of the house only to meet different people in the house who told him that the house was not for sale and the purported owner he transacted the business with was fake.
A report was made to the Police and the 1st Accused person was arrested.
He admitted the offence and mentioned his accomplices as Charles, Kwaku Yeboah, and Willie who are still on the run.
Source: GhanaJustice/F.Kyeremateng
