Pensioner Dragged To Court For Allegedly Impersonating Dead Relative To Sell Land At Teshie

Pensioner Dragged To Court For Allegedly Impersonating Dead Relative To Sell Land At Teshie

  • A pensioner has been dragged to court for allegedly impersonating his late brother in the sale of a plot of land at Teshie
  • The pensioner, Roland Ababio, and his accomplice, Kwame Gyane Ababio, are facing charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and defrauding by false pretence
  • The duo had reportedly attempted to sell a plot of land to a civil servant, Eric Kotey, for GH¢450,000

A pensioner has been arraigned for allegedly impersonating his late brother to sell a plot of land.

The prosecution, Chief Inspector Princess Tetteh Boafo, said the accused, Roland Ababio, allegedly assumed his late brother's identity and, with the help of his alleged accomplice, Kwame Gyane Ababio, who acted as an intermediary and facilitated the sale of the portion of land.

Pensioner, Accra Circuit Court, Roland Ababio, Eric Kotey, Defrauding by false pretence, Kwame Gyane Ababio
Civil servant takes pensioner to court for allegedly impersonating deceased relative to sell him a parcel of land.
Source: Getty Images

The duo have been charged with conspiracy to defraud and defrauding by false pretence.

Ababio pleaded not guilty.

Particulars of the case

The prosecution, in November 2021 argued that Kwame had introduced himself to Kotey, claiming that his ‘uncle’ Ephraim Asante was looking for a buyer for a parcel of land he owned.

Read also

House help sprays acid on friend during quarrel, granted GH¢50,000 bail

Kwame later introduced Kotey to Roland, who ostensibly falsely introduced himself as Ephraim Asante (deceased).

He allegedly confirmed his identity to Kotey and authorised Kwame to negotiate the sale on his behalf as he was preparing to leave for the United States of America.

The duo had agreed to sell the land for GH¢450,000, with Kotey transferring an initial payment of GH¢250,000 to Kwame's UBA bank account.

However, upon a visit to the property, Kotey discovered Kwame developing the land for another family member leading him filing a report at the police station in May 2022.

Subscribe to watch new videos

Police investigations had confirmed that the land originally belonged to Ephraim Asante, who died in 2016.

The prosecutor argued Ababio and Kwame had exploited Asante’s death to sell the land to Kotey, collecting a down payment of GH¢250,000 from Kotey.

It was also discovered that part of the land sold to Kotey belonged to another entity, Daraja Properties.

Read also

Mahama accuses Jubilee House of churning out fake news to undermine his political ambition

During the investigation, Kwame refunded GH¢130,000 of the GH¢250,000 down payment Kotey paid.

Subscribe to watch new videos

Arrest warrant

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

The sureties are to prove they own property equal to the bail amount. Meanwhile, the original title documents are being held at the registry until the case is settled.

However, due to Roland’s failure to show up at the court, the judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

Two Ghanaians sentenced for romance scam

YEN.com.gh previously reported that two Ghanaian nationals have been sentenced in the US and ordered to pay over $500,000 each.

They reportedly targeted certain elderly US citizens through phone calls and online platforms.

The suspects have been identified as Sadia Alhassan (35) and Mohammed Saaminu Zuberu (39).

Proofread by Samuel Gitonga, Copy Editor at YEN.com.gh

Source: YEN.com.gh

Authors:
Cornerlis Affre avatar

Cornerlis Affre (CA and Politics Editor) Cornerlis Kweku Affre is a Current Affairs Editor at Yen.com. He covers politics, business, and other current affairs. He has worked with Myjoyonline.com for four years and was previously a radio host and news editor at RadioGIJ. You can reach out to him at cornerlis.affre@yen.com.gh