Three Ghanaian students plead guilty to credit card fraud charges in Fiji
Three Ghanaian students have pleaded guilty to the charge of illegal use of personal information from credit cards in Fiji.
Ghanabusinessnews.com on June 5, 2012 reported that the three students were facing credit card fraud related charges in that country.
Marvin Opoku Agyemang, Boakye Vincent Kwame, and Isaac Velison on June 12, 2012 entered their guilty plea before a Magistrate Court in Suva, Fiji. They admitted using credit card information of at least six different people from November 30, 2011 to January 8, 2012.
According to newswire Fijilive, a State Attorney named Taina Leweni who read out summaries of facts for the trio, said the three first arrived in Fiji as part of a group from the World Harvest Social Club in Accra, Ghana in November last year.
On student visas, they entered the country and supposedly came to do internship in Eco -Tourism in Fiji.
According to prosecution while in Fiji, the three stayed at various hotels between November 30, last year and January 8, this year, the three used credit card information of at least six different people to do transactions.
But an employee of Vodafone Fiji Limited, noticed some irregular activities on the Vodafone online shop of recharges of $100 and reported the matter to the Westpac Bank to verify whether the transactions were authorized.
Upon investigations, it was verified by authorities that the transactions were not authorized by the legal owners of the credit cards, according to Fijilive.
The trio were arrested after a related incident was reported at the Samabula branch of Court Fiji Limited, where they had used fake American passports for purchases.
The court heard that upon a search of the house where they stayed, credit card information of six people was found – one from the United States of America, one from Australia and the four of unknown origins. The three were said to have used dishonestly.
The case resumes on June 22, 2012, the Fijilive reported.
By Ekow Quandzie