Afia Ansaa Ampene
Afia Ansaa Ampene, the hostess of the ‘Mmaa Nkommo’ talk show on Ghana Television, has been dragged before an Accra circuit court for fraud.
The accused, a pensioner popularly known as Auntie Afia, is in the dock with her son, Stephen Kwabena Osei, a trader, for allegedly conspiring to defraud and defrauding by false pretences one Maud Botwe the sum of GH¢265,988.
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Martin Acheampong, told the court that the two on October 13, 2016 at Weija in Accra, obtained the consent of the complainant to part with Nestle products to the tune of the said amount under the pretext that if the said items were supplied, she would supply same to an unnamed NGO and bring the money.
However, in the court presided over by Ruby Naa Adjeley Quayson, the two denied the offence and were admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢205,900 with three sureties each who are earning a salary not less than GH¢1,000 a month.
As part of the bail conditions the investigator was tasked to check that the sureties have valid photo identity cards.
Earlier in an attempt for bail, Kofi Bonney, lawyer for Afia Ansaa Ampene and Stephen Kwabena Osei said the business partners of the two had not been faithful to them.
He said the two had been looking for the business partners thereby creating the impression that they had gone into hiding.
Bonney stated that the defenders and the complainant would get in touch to see how the parties could resolve the case.
The facts of the case are that Maud is the Managing Director of Dan Maud Company Limited, dealers in Nestle, Unilever and other products while the accused persons are mother and son.
Chief Inspector Acheampong said between October 31 and November 4, 2016, the accused persons convinced Maud to part with goods totaling the said amount with the claim that they were delivering same to an unnamed NGO to bring the proceeds.
Auntie Afia issued two post-dated cheques with the face values of GH¢40,000 and GH¢60,000.
The GH¢40,000 cheque was presented and went through but when the GH¢60,000 cheque was presented it was dioshonoured.
Auntie Afia later went to the company and convinced the accountant, collected the bounced cheque and deposited GH¢10,000 and promised to bring the balance of GH¢215,888 same day by the close of banking hours.
“The accused persons who were supposed to pay an amount of GH¢215,888 vacated their house at New Sabrepo near Michel Camp and went into hiding” the prosecution said, adding that “all efforts made by the complainant to trace their whereabouts proved futile.”
On February, 1 this year, a similar case was lodged against the ‘mother and son’ by another complainant and during investigations Auntie Afia was arrested from her hideout in Tema Devtraco Estates whist Stephen was also nabbed in a hotel at Haatso in Accra.
Maud had information about the accused persons and came to the police station and indentified the accused persons as the culprits.
During investigations, the accused persons admitted the offence in their caution statements and refunded GH¢10,000 [which was handed over to Maud in open court].
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
jeffdegraft44@yahoo.com