Businessman fingered in recruitment scam on ₵150k bail

An Accra Circuit Court has granted a 25-year-old businessman a ₵150,000.00 bail with three sureties over an alleged ₵289,400. 00 recruitment scam.

The Court presided over by Mr. Samuel Bright Acquah, ordered that one of the three sureties should earn not less than ₵2,000.00, the second should be a business person with not less than ₵100,000.00 in his bank account and the last surety should have a permanent place of abode and work within the Court’s jurisdiction and his monthly turnover not less than ₵1,500.00.

Again, Justice Mensah was asked to report to the National Police-Criminal Investigation Department’s Special Investigation Unit every Wednesday until the final determination of the case.

Mensah has earlier denied defrauding Mr Bernard Wellington, Madam Catherine Konadu, and Mr Kwaku Acquah.

He will make his next appearance on April 20.

Police Chief Inspector Isaac Anquandah told the Court that the complainants were: one Wellington, a teacher residing at Odobeng, Madam Konadu also a teacher residing at Takoradi, and Mr Ackah, unemployed, residing at Tarkwa.

He said Mensah, the accused person, was a self-acclaimed businessperson residing at Adenta.

The prosecution said in January 2021, the accused person dressed in military uniform and informed his family members and friends, including Kwasi Abbam and Eric Oppong that he was a military officer and had protocol slots to recruit youth who were interested to be enlisted in the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Immigration Service, and other security agencies at a fee from ₵5,000.00 to ₵8,000.00.

It said Oppong, who was then a National Service Person at the school where Wellington taught, informed him that the accused person was enlisting people into the various security services through protocol.

It said Wellington called the accused person who confirmed the same and asked Wellington to mobilise people who were interested in the recruitment.

The prosecution said Wellington mobilised five of his relatives, including two children of his headmaster, and gave ₵35,000.00 to the accused person.

Mensah through the same modus operandi lured Madam Konadu to mobilise interested persons for him, adding that she mobilised 13 interested persons and collected ¢108,500.00, the court heard.

The prosecution said Mensah, who wore a military uniform visited Mr Acquah in Kumasi and asked him also to mobilise interested persons to be enlisted through protocol.

It said Mr Ackah also mobilised 22 persons and the accused person collected ₵145,900.00 from them under the pretext of recruiting them into the Ghana Armed Forces and Ghana Immigration Service.

The prosecution said Mensah, after collecting all the monies failed to fulfill his part of the bargain and went into hiding.

The complainants made a formal complaint to the Police which led to Mensah’s arrest. In his investigation caution statement, he admitted the offence and pleaded with the Police to give him some time to refund the money.