Ohemaa Jackie
Jacklin Sarfo Gyamfua, known in showbiz as Ohemaa Jackie, a 29-year-old gospel musician, has been remanded into police custody for allegedly defrauding a trader to the tune of €21,000.
The accused, who is noted for her online video posts, allegedly got the complaint to pay the stated amount under the guise of securing Italian passports and Italian resident identity cards for her and her infant daughter.
Court documents indicate that Ohemaa Jackie after collecting the said amount, then prepared forged Italian passports and identity cards for the complainant.
She was hauled before the court charged with two counts of defrauding by false pretences contrary to Section 131(1) of the Criminal and Other Offences Act and forgery of official document, to which she pleaded not guilty.
Her Lawyer, Peter Sarfo, had pleaded with the court to grant her bail, assuring that she is a known person and was ready to stand trial and clear her name.
But the prayer was opposed by the prosecution led by Detective Inspector Frederick Sarpong, who insisted that the accused person may not appear to stand trial if granted bail.
The court, presided over by Her Honour Evelyn Asamoah, refused the prayer for bail and remanded her into police custody to reappear on September 16, 2021.
Brief Facts
The brief facts of the case presented by Detective Inspector Frederick Sarpong indicate that the complainant in the month of February 2021, had spotted an advert posted on Facebook by Ohemaa Jackie in which she claimed to have the ‘connections’ to secure passports and identity cards of any country within the European Union for interested persons.
The complainant, Barbara Adu-Boahen, having expressed interest in traveling to Italy subsequently contacted Ohemaa Jackie on a phone number attached to the said advert.
According to prosecuting documents, “the accused (Ohemaa Jackie) promised to secure two Italian passports and two Italian resident identity cards for the complainant and her infant daughter at a fee of €24,000.”
The accused person then gave the complaint two bank accounts – an Access Bank account and a UMB bank account into which the complaint was to pay the €24,000 demanded by Ohemaa Jackie.
“The complainant accordingly paid various sums amounting to €21,000 into the accounts provided by the accused. The accused later provided two forged Italian passports and two forged Italian resident identity cards to the complainant and her infant daughter,” the fact sheet indicated.
On March 30, 2021, the complaint was arrested at the Kotoka International Airport when she attempted to travel outside the country using the so-called passports that Ohemaa Jackie had provided her and her daughter.
It said a complaint was then lodged to the police at the National Signal Bureau and the National Security and Ohemaa Jackie was arrested on September 8, 2021.
A search conducted at the residence of Ohemaa Jackie led to the discovery of the two forged Italian passports and Italian resident identity cards which are being investigated by the police to ascertain their authenticity.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak