Fraudster impersonates Kofi Boakye to put up a storey building

A twenty-nine year old trader, Derrick Arkon, has allegedly built a four-bedroom storey-building using the name of the Director-General of Police in charge of Legal and Prosecution, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Nathan Kofi Boakye.

Derrick Arkon, together with Wayne Amadu, 32 years and also a trader, defrauded one Alan Brain Collins, who is based in the United Kingdom, in the sum of £15,000 using uniformed pictures of COP Mr Nathan Kofi Boakye.

Derrick Arkon allegedly received £2,400, equivalent to GH¢15,800.65 of the “proceeds of crime,” to build a four-bedroom storey-building at Paki No.2 in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region.

Wayne was said to have been apportioned £3,695, equivalent to GH¢22,843, while the remaining amount was shared among other five persons who are currently at large.

The other five persons currently at large are Murphin Oppong, Evans Quophi Karikari, Oxford Israel Nwasu, and Kelvin Ochiagha Izuchukwu.

This was made known to an Accra Circuit presided over by His Honour Emmanuel Essandoh yesterday, which remanded the two – Wayne and Derrick – into prison custody.

According the brief facts read in court by the Prosecutor, Inspector Eric Pobee, the complainant is one Oduro Asamoah Clinton, who is a son of the victim, Alan Brain Collins, who is domiciled in the United Kingdom.

He said the accused, Wayne Amadu, Derrick Arkon and five others, who are yet to be arrested, reside in Accra and Kumasi respectively.

Inspector Pobee told the court that during the year 2016, the victim encountered the accused persons – Oxford Israel Nwasu and Kelvin Ochiagha Izuchkwu – on social media, where they introduced themselves to him as gold dealers operating in the country.

The victim expressed interest in purchasing12 kilogrammes of gold, and based on this, the accused persons cunningly demanded and collected a total of £25,000 from the victim under the pretext of transporting the gold to him in the United Kingdom through Alxa Shipping Company.

He said the accused persons forged the Ghana Customs, Excise and Preventive Service Form “A” and waybill to support their claims.

Demonstrating how the name of the senior police officer was used by the fraudsters, he said:  “In the fraudulent transaction, the accused persons posed as officials of Government Review Board in the name of the President of Ghana, Commissioner of Police Mr Nathan Kofi Boakye, and the Managing Director of the Agriculture Development Bank (ADB), Dr John Kofi Mensah, and lured the victim into believing that the Government Review Board had deposited $45,000 into ADB account, which was due to be transferred to his HSBC account in United Kingdom as refund of the £25.000.”

He continued: “The suspects sent uniformed pictures of COP Mr Nathan Kofi Boakye, letter and ADB transfer slip to that effect, and collected a total of £15,000 from the victim. The victim, after realising that he had been duped, informed his son and a complainant was lodged to the Nungua Police.”

Inspector Pobee added that intelligence gathered by the police led to the arrest of accused persons, Wayne Amadu and Derrick Arkon.

He said during interrogation, Wayne and Derrick both admitted to receiving the money from the victim into their respective bank accounts, and mentioned one Ransford Oppong and Murphin Adusei as their accomplices.

Investigations further disclosed that Wayne Amadu transferred the money he received from the victim to his mobile money and Fidelity Bank account, whereas Derrick Arkon used his to construct a four bedrooms storey building situated at Pakyi No.2, a suburb of Kumasi.

Efforts are underway to locate and apprehend their accomplices.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the 15 charges, which include money laundry, forgery, defrauding by false pretence, and defrauding levelled against them.

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