GES accountant in court for swindling 169 health workers of GH¢563,500
A Ghana Education Service (GES) Accountant has appeared in an Accra Circuit Court on charges of defrauding 169 Health Supportive Workers out of GH¢563,500.
Gabriel Akosah Bobie, 45, was said to have collected the money by soliciting the support of some agents who marketed his ability to secure financial clearance in addition to biometric registration for interested health workers.
As a result, the complainants indicated interest and collected money from the workers to facilitate employment.
Bobie pled not guilty to 33 counts of defrauding under false pretences.
The accused person’s counsel asked the court to admit his client to bail on flexible terms and that he would appear to stand trial.
According to the counsel, his client was brought to the Adjabeng District Court and granted bail, but the police replaced the charge sheet and charged him before the Circuit Court.
The prosecution, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Evans Kesse, strongly opposed the grant of bail, arguing that the defendant should be remanded into police custody to enable investigations.
The court, presided over by Mrs Susana Eduful, granted Bobie bail in the sum of GH¢600,000 with three sureties to be justified by title deeds of their properties.
The court ordered the Police to expedite their investigations and adjourned the matter to September 4, 2023.
The prosecution told the court that the complainants are health support workers at Ahmadiyya Health Service, whilst Bobie works as an accountant with the Ghana Education Service and lives in Bechem.
According to the prosecutor, between 2019 and 2022, Bobie contracted agents to advertise his ability to secure financial clearance and biometric registration for interested health support workers.
To facilitate the process, the complainants began sending money to Bobie through his agents via mobile money account numbers 0542036310, 0591838707, and Ghana Commercial Bank account number 4131010023221.
Bobie failed to keep his promise and went into hiding after receiving GHC 563,500.00 from the complainants.
The prosecution said on July 19, 2023, Bobie was arrested in a similar case in Accra.
It stated that on July 21, 2023, the complainants came to the Accra Regional Criminal Investigations Department headquarters after learning of Bobie’s arrest and filed a report against him.
During investigations, Bobie denied the offence.
However, subsequent investigations revealed that Bobie received varied amounts of money from other unsuspecting individuals under the same pretext.
Source: GNA