A 24-year-old musician has been given a five-year prison term for stealing GHC94, 771.63 from an accountant by an Accra Circuit Court. Christian Yabani was accused of defrauding under false pretenses after he took money from the accountant on the pretense of investing it but instead pled guilty with justification. Yabani apologized to the court and said that the complainant should forgive him for what he had done.
The accused’s defense was presented in court by Mrs. Rosemary Baah Tosu. “I have heard his mitigation request. The judge stated, “However, I take into account the persistence of such scams in recent years, and I believe I should give him a deterrent sentence.
The culprit was further ordered by the court to pay the complainant’s money back. The Accountant, whose identity was suppressed, resided at Ablekuma while Yabani stayed at Sogakope in the Volta Region, according to the prosecution team led by Chief Inspector Amoah. According to the prosecution, in May 2022, Yabani, whose phone number was 0249164924, wrote a WhatsApp message to the complainant and introduced himself as Mr. Osei Quashie, a World Remit representative in Ghana. It said that the accused told the complainant via a WhatsApp message that any money put in World Remit would earn a 100% interest rate, encouraging the complainant to do so.
The court was informed that Yabani had also included a picture of an Osei Quashie-looking Ghana Card. The prosecution claimed that between May and October 2022, the complainant developed an interest in Yabani and transferred him a total of GHC94,771.63 using three Vodafone cash account numbers, each with the names Mary Adzadeko, Andy Afanu, and Mensah Fia. It stated that Yabani requested Express Pay to send the remaining sum to him.
However, despite repeated requests, Yabani refused to return the complainant’s money and broke his promise to provide returns on the investments. According to the prosecution, Yabani was detained for a related offense in Ho, in the Volta Region, after a report to the police.
