A 55-year-old man who successfully conned a retired UK lecturer out of GH1,000,000 under the guise of investing his money and pretended to be a marketing executive of the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) has been sentenced to 18 years in jail by the High Court in Accra.
Samuel Nana Mensah, the defendant, has entered a not guilty plea to eight charges of money laundering, holding fake currency, deceiving by means of false pretense, and collaborating with another person.
He was nonetheless declared guilty by the court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, after the prosecution, led by Winnifred Sarpong, had shown to the court through witnesses that convict committed the crime.
There was no expression of contrition when Mensah was asked if he had anything to say before the decision was announced.
The 55-year-old Mensah received 18 years in jail for the charges of fraud.
He received a 10-year sentence on each of the counts of money laundering and possession of forgeries. He will serve both sentences concurrently for a total of 18 years in a hard labor prison.
On the basis of the accusation of having paper, he was still released.
Judge Marfo, who handed down the ruling, commanded that all the assets determined to be the profits of Mensah's crime be recovered and delivered to the retired lecturer.
brief details
The complainant entered the country from the UK in August 2019 with the purpose of moving since he had recently retired.
While in the nation, Mensah, as Samuel Kwaku Romeo, was introduced to the complainant as someone who worked for WAMA and could assist him in investing his money by one Ericson Arthur.
Mensah introduced himself to the complainant as a marketing representative for WAMA and assured him that if he invested GH1,000,001 or more in WAMA, he would receive a return of 50%.
Tranches
The complainant sent the accused individual a total of GHC 1,000,000 in three installments for investment reasons while relying on misleading statements.
The complainant then sought payment after sensing that the defendant could be a scammer. Once the accused went missing, the complainant reported the incident to the police.
Based on available information, Arthur was apprehended from his hiding place in December 2019. Mensah went into hiding and was caught in June 2021 off a tip-off.
Mensah was arrested, and the police discovered several fake dollar bills and papers that looked like note-making materials in his hands.