Nana Ama Nwurueze
A 62-year-old self-styled businesswoman, Nana Ama Nwurueze has been remanded into custody by the Adabraka District Court for defrauding another businesswoman a total of $13,000.
The first $5,000, according to court documents, was taken under the guise of clearing some containers at the port after which she would return the money to the complainant, Dorothy Asare in three weeks.
Although she failed to repay the money, she returned to the complainant in a month seeking another $8,000 to “help with an issue at the Airport,” promising to return it in two weeks.
Nana Ama Nwurueze is alleged to have posed as a business mogul who owns expensive properties, including Ohemaa Plaza at East Legon, some fishing vessels in Takoradi and a house at Airport, in a bid to get the complainant in the case to give her the money.
She was arrested after the court issued a bench warrant for her arrest in December last year after unsuccessful attempts to arrest her.
She has been charged with one count of defrauding by false pretences. She pleaded not guilty.
The Adabraka District Court, presided over by Abena Asoh Owusu-Omenyo, declined her bail application after ruling that evidence on record suggests that the accused was flight risk.
The prosecution’s brief facts presented by Chief Inspector Apewa Achana states that the accused made representations to the complainant that she is a business mogul and had over 10 containers of goods at the Takoradi port.
The accused person told the complainant that if she could part with $5,000, she would clear the containers and refund the complainant’s money to her in three weeks.
She also claimed to be in partnership with Devtraco, and showed her an ongoing construction of apartments on her purported property which was to be leased upon completion and “would reel in a lot of money.”
Based upon these representations, the complainant parted with the $5,000 to the accused at her home at Airport.
After a month, Nwurueze contacted the complainant and demanded another $8,000, which she claimed was to help with an issue at the port, and she promised to pay back within two weeks.
The complainant obliged and gave her the money.
She has since failed to repay the money, leading the complainant to report the issue to the police.
The complainant later discovered that the property at Airport did not belong to the accused, neither was she in any kind of partnership with Devtraco.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak