Mason charged with fraud

Prestea (W/R), Dec 18, GNA- A 28-year-old mason, Kwadwo Owusu was on Thursday remanded in police custody by the Prestea Magistrate's Court for deceiving more than one million farmers in several farming communities in the Wassa West District of the Western region on the pretext of giving them loans from the government.

He pleaded not guilty and will re-appear on December 22. Police Inspector Jonas William Katapu told the court that the accused resides at Ayerebi near Akyem Oda and was employed by the Awutu Bawjiase Cassava Starch factory as a labourer but was later dismissed. Inspector Katapu said on November 12, the accused who has some knowledge of the operations of the factory contacted a Printing Press at Oda in the Eastern Region and managed to print official receipts with the address of the Awutu Starch Factory and went to Oppong Valley and Damang and introduced himself to the chief, Nana Datu Akomea as an agent from the factory.

The accused told the chief that he was sent by the government to register interested farmers to be granted loans between two and four million cedis to enable them to cultivate more cassava to supply the factory at Awutu.

The prosecution said the accused started collecting fees ranging between two thousand and five thousand cedis and issued receipts to cover the amounts with the promise that those who registered with two thousand cedis will receive two million cedis while those who paid five thousand cedis will receive five million cedi as loan.

The accused, prosecution said also promised the farmers that the government was on the verge of establishing one of the factories in the district to enable them to get market for their produce.

Inspector Katapu said the farmers who became convinced started registering in groups and each group was issued with a receipt by the accused with a further promise of bringing them forms to be completed later.

The prosecution said the accused went from one village to another introducing himself to the chiefs of the villages and managed to raise 7.3 million cedis from the farmers.

Inspector Katapu said the chief of the Damang suspected the accused during his operation at his village and caused his arrest The accused allegedly admitted the offence when he was arrested, the prosecution said.

Some of the farmers who heard the prosecution of the accused trouped to the court with the false receipts the accused issued to them.