Pensioner in court for impersonating late brother to sell land

A pensioner has been dragged to the Accra Circuit Court for allegedly impersonating his late brother to sell a plot of land.

According to police prosecutor, Chief Inspector Princess Tetteh Boafo, Roland Ababio allegedly posed as his deceased brother to facilitate the sale, with Kwame Gyane Ababio acting as an intermediary.

Ababio, together with his alleged accomplice, Kwame, has been charged with conspiracy to defraud and defrauding by false pretence.

The two reportedly convinced a civil servant, Eric Kotey, to purchase land at Teshie, falsely claiming it belonged to the deceased.  

The buyer, Eric Kotey was allegedly deceived into making a down payment of GH¢250,000 on the property, with an agreed total price of GH¢450,000. Ababio pleaded not guilty to the charge. 

Bail 

The presiding judge, Susana Eduful, granted him bail of GH¢200,000 requiring two sureties. 

As part of the bail conditions, the sureties are to prove ownership of property equal to the bail amount.

The court also ordered that the original title documents be held at the registry until the case is resolved.

Roland Ababio, however, failed to appear, leaving Judge Eduful to issue a bench warrant for his arrest.

Chief Inspector Boafo reported that in November 2021, Kwame initially introduced himself to Kotey, claiming his “uncle” Ephraim Asante, was selling a parcel of land. Kwame later introduced Kotey to Roland who falsely posed as Ephraim Asante.

Ababio allegedly confirmed this identity, authorising Kwame to negotiate the sale on his behalf, saying he would soon depart for the United States.

After agreeing on the price, Kotey transferred the initial payment of GH¢250,000 to Kwame’s UBA bank account.

However, when Kotey revisited the property, he found that Kwame had started developing the land for another family member.

When questioned, Kwame allegedly could not provide a reasonable answer, prompting Kotey to report the incident to the police in May 2022.

Investigations revealed that the land originally belonged to Ephraim Asante, who passed away in 2016.

The prosecution alleged that Ababio and Kwame exploited Ephraim’s death to impersonate him and sell the land, collecting GH¢250,000 from Kotey. Part of the land has also been registered under another entity, Daraja Properties, since 2020.

During the investigation, Kwame refunded GH¢130,000 which was returned to Kotey. Both men have now been charged with conspiracy and fraud, with their next court date set for December 18, 2024.