A 32-year-old accountant, Edward Unicorn, has been sentenced to two years in prison for dishonestly appropriating GHC40,433.50 from the Ghana Police Church.
The Adentan Circuit Court presided over by Sedinam Awo Kwadam, convicted Unicorn on his own plea after he admitted to using the money to fund his online betting addiction.
Unicorn’s journey to the prison cell began in June 2024, when he was employed by the Ghana Police Church as an accountant.
His responsibilities included collecting cash from ushers, managing the church’s mobile money accounts, preparing payroll, and submitting monthly reports to the Financial Committee.
However, with access to the church’s mobile money, Unicorn found himself tempted by the ease with which he could embezzle funds.
On August 17, 2024, Unicorn’s thirst for quick wealth led him to carry the church’s mobile money phone with him to Jerry’s Pub, where he met a friend, Wishwell Kofi Yorke, for a drink.
Later that night, he hired two Nigerian prostitutes and continued his revelry at the Purple Pub in Osu.
It was during this period that Unicorn made a GHC136 payment from the church’s mobile money account, which he claimed was for a drink.
However, investigations revealed that Unicorn had deposited GHC18,303 into Wishwell Kofi Yorke’s mobile money account and GHC13,588 into his account, using all of it to play Aviator, an online betting game.
When confronted with the evidence, Unicorn feigned mental illness but was later treated and discharged from the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.
The complainant, a police officer and chaplain of the church detected the theft on August 19, 2024, and complained to the East Legon Police Station.
Unicorn was arrested and remanded for further investigations, which revealed a pattern of embezzlement dating back to July 14, 2024.
The court heard that Unicorn failed to account for a second offertory of GHC3,143.50 collected on August 18, 2024, and had also deposited only GHC5,000 of the GHC7,000 collected as offertory on July 14, 2024, into the church’s bank account.
On July 21, 2024, an offering of GHC6,500 was collected, but only GHC6,000 was deposited into the church’s account.
In his defense, Unicorn claimed that he had spent the money on online betting and had asked the court to grant him bail to work and pay off the debt.
However, the court was unmoved by his plea, directing him to pay GHC5,000 and ordering that an amount of GHC2,775 retrieved from him be given to the Ghana Police Church.
-BY Daniel Bampoe