Teachers arrested over GH¢394,500 employment fraud

An Accra Circuit Court has granted GH¢350,000.00 bail to three teachers accused of an employment fraud.

Samuel Mensah Amelikpo, David Bacha Ntenyam, and Daniel Ofori Boateng must get two sureties each from the Ghana Education Service (GES) teaching profession or family members.

They have to report to the police every Wednesday.

The case has been moved until April 30, 2024.

All three denied conspiring to defraud 42 individuals of GH¢394,500.00 under the guise of gaining jobs in the GES.

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Police Chief Inspector Daniel Danku informed the court, headed over by Samuel Bright Acquah, that the complainant, Sumaila Awueidze, was jobless and lived in Kukurantumi, Eastern Region.

He stated Amelipko lived in Awoshie, an Accra suburb, Bacha in Asamankese, Eastern Region, and Boateng in Effiduase, Ashanti Region. They’re all instructors.

In August 2023, Amelikpo informed the complaint that GES recruiting seats were available and that he had a recruitment process in place.

During the chat, Amelipko reportedly offered 100% guarantee and a refund if the recruiting failed.

According to the prosecution, such representation satisfied the complainant, who then organised forty-two (42) interested candidates.

On August 29, 2023, Amelikpo asked and received GH¢394,000.00 from the complainants to obtain them jobs. However, he failed and went into hiding.

The court heard that the complainant’s efforts to reach Amelikpo were ineffective, therefore a report was filed to the police.

According to the prosecution, Amelikpo was detained on October 18, 2023, at Odorgonno Accra, and in his investigation cautious statement, he acknowledged to collecting the aforementioned sum of money from the complainant in order to acquire jobs for his candidates, but failed.

Amelikpo implicated Bacha and Boateng as accomplices, which led to their arrests on November 10, 2023, in Asamankese and Asante Effiduase, respectively.

In his warned statement, Bacha acknowledged to receiving GH¢388,000.00 from Amelikpo, which he gave over to Boateng and Reuben Bempoh for recruiting.

Boateng stated in his warned statement that he got money from Amelikpo and Bacha but deposited it into Vodafone Cash wallet accounts created by Bempoh, whom he met online, and claimed to work at GES, National Headquarters in Accra.

During the inquiry, police seized GH¢70,000.00 from Boateng and delivered it back to the complainant.

The cops are currently investigating the incident.

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