Two granted GHC 50,000 bail over alleged COCOBOD recruitment fraud

An Accra Circuit Court has granted a GHC 50,000.00 bail each to two persons who allegedly defrauded 35 persons of GHC 350,000.00 under the pretext of securing them jobs at Ghana COCOBOD.

Douglas Ofosu, student, and Wilfred Kwaku Boateng, businessman, were ordered by the Court presided over by Mrs Kizita Naa Kowah Quarshie, to get two common sureties.

They have denied conspiring to defraud Mr Twumasi Asare and 34 others.

Ofosu and Boateng will make their next appearance on February 13, 2023.

Meanwhile, their accomplices: Sakyi, Mensah, Emmanuel and Bismark Odame are on the run.

Chief Inspector Isaac Anquandah told the Court that complainants in this case were unemployed.

He said Ofosu and his accomplices represented themselves as staff of COCOBOD and told the victims that there were a lot of vacancies in the institution.

The accused persons, the Court heard, between November and December 2022, took advantage of the complainants and collected GHS350,000.00 under the pretext of securing them jobs at COCOBOD.

Prosecution said after the accused persons received the GHS350,000.00 from the complainants, they failed to honour their promise, hence, the complainants filed a petition with the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), where Ofosu was arrested.

Chief Inspector Anquandah said in Ofosu’s cautioned statement, he voluntarily admitted having received about GHS100,000.00 from Boateng.

He said Odame, now at large, represented himself as Dr Mensah, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, and received money from the job seekers.

Prosecution said Ofosu bought MTN mobile money merchant sim card from a friend at GHS600.00 and used same to receive the fraud money, adding that the money was shared by the accused persons.

Chief Inspector Anquandah said on January 04, 2023, Boateng also reported with his Lawyer at the NIB where he was arrested and in his caution statement, he admitted having known Ofosu and asked him to purchase MTN mobile money sim card which he used to receive funds on behalf of Odame.

He said efforts were underway to arrest the rest of the accused persons.