On Thursday, April 6, 2023, an Accra High Court, presided over with the aid of using Her Ladyship Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, (Mrs) J.A., sitting in as a further High Court Judge convicted and sentenced accused individuals to three hundred and sixty five days imprisonment.
In addition, they may be to pay a great of thousand (2000) penalty gadgets every or in default serve twenty-4 months in jail in difficult labour.
The accused individuals had been Linda Abakah and Solomon Ofosu. They had been charged and convicted with the offence of conspiracy to scouse borrow, stealing and cash laundering.
The courtroom docket held that the 2 accused individuals having been in custody for a great duration of six (6) months and the truth that the majority of the advantage or proceeds of the crime has now no longer been collected to them they had been given a distinctly lenient sentence.
The different accused individuals, Derick Obeng aka Chilling and Ezekiel Otoo who had been at massive on the time of sentencing, had been but charged with equal offences.
Prelude to the conviction
It may be recalled that during April, 2022, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in a joint collaboration with the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) and the Ghana Police Service arrested a crook syndicate primarily based totally in Assin Fosu. The syndicate became concerned in cellular banking utility fraud and sim switch fraud.
The syndicate operates the usage of sim switch and cellular banking utility fraud schemes. The cellular utility fraud is an internet scamming technique wherein monies are stolen thru social engineering with the aid of using luring clients of banks to expose their telecellsmartphone numbers, passwords, pin codes, and One Time Password (OTP). After getting access to those information, they take over the customer`s financial institution account, cellular and digital cash.
The fraudsters fraudulently withdraw the closing stability from the clients` debts at Agency Points. This is typically executed with guide of dealers from the banks and personnel of telecommunication businesses to switch sim.
Through their fraudulent activities, clients` cellular numbers had been swapped with out their information and allowed them to advantage get entry to to their cellular banking utility to scouse borrow funds. They had been capable of illegally withdraw an quantity of GHc257,472.22 from eleven clients.
