The Circuit Court in Accra, presided over by His Honour Jojo Amoah Hagan, has granted bail to a pregnant woman accused of aiding in a GH¢388,830 visa fraud scheme, while refusing bail for a second accused who is already serving a prison sentence.
A third suspect remains at large.
The court on Thursday ruled that Augustine Yeboah, alias Charles Obeng, the first accused (A1), who is currently serving a prison term at the Nsawam Security Prisons, cannot be admitted to bail.
His Honour indicated that the court would only consider any bail application after he completes his ongoing sentence. Yeboah, however, still faces charges in the pending case.
The second accused, Joana Obeng, a 26-year-old Hairdresser and pregnant at the time of her arraignment, was admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 with two sureties.
The third accused, Evans Kwaku Gyan, a 47-year-old driver, is currently on the run and being sought by police.
The accused persons face three counts conspiracy to commit crime, defrauding by false pretence, defrauding by false pretence and abetment of crime.
According to the prosecution, the complainant, Eva Mohammed, a Public Servant from Teshie, was introduced to Yeboah after her sister met him on TikTok.
Yeboah allegedly posed as a staff member of the U.S. Embassy in Accra and claimed he had six visa “slots” he could secure.
Believing the representation, the complainant and her relatives expressed interest. Yeboah allegedly demanded US$3,000 (GH¢49,200) as visa processing fees and later requested an additional GH¢339,830 for flight tickets.
Both payments were made into Joana Obeng’s GCB Bank account.
After receiving the full GH¢388,830, Yeboah reportedly began giving excuses before cutting off communication entirely.
A police investigation traced several phone numbers linked to the transactions and confirmed that Joana had used her Ghana Card to register multiple SIM cards for Yeboah.
She told investigators she met Yeboah on a dating site and admitted withdrawing and handing over all deposits to Evans.
Police later arrested Evans at his hideout at Alhaji, Israel, a suburb of Accra. Meanwhile, Yeboah, when approached in prison, declined to answer investigators’ questions without access to counsel and refused to give a written statement.
Investigators concluded that there was no genuine travel package, and the accused persons conspired to defraud the victims. All three have been charged and arraigned before the court, except A3, who remains at large.
Source:Thechronicleghana
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