Court jails man for defrauding 3 SHS graduates

The Tamale District Court has sentenced a 26-year-old unemployed man to 24 months’ imprisonment for defrauding three senior high school (SHS) graduates on the pretext of assisting them to join a security service of their choice.

The convict, Rashid Ewutongma, a resident of Damango in the West Gonja District in the Northern Region, pleaded guilty to two counts of defrauding by false pretence and forgery of official documents and was sentenced to 24 months and 20 months respectively, by the court, presided over by Mr Anthony Asaah.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

Facts 

Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police Mr Zakariah Wemah told the court that Ewutongma approached the three SHS graduates — Alhassan Rufia, Abdul Momeen Adams and Adamu Bawa — that he could assist them to join any  security service of their choice.

He said Ewutongma further told the complainants that he also had ‘connections’ and could influence the top brass of all the security agencies, especially the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).

Mr Wemah said based on the presentation the convict made, he succeeded in collecting GH¢5,400 from the complainants and issued them with appointment letters and identification (ID) cards of the GAF and the GIS, respectively.

He said Rufia and Momeen, who were issued with appointment letters and ID cards of the GAF, went to the Bole Military Detachment Base to ascertain the authenticity of the documents and they were told that they were fake.

Mr Wemah said the two lodged a complaint with the police and Ewutongma was arrested.