An Accra Circuit Court presided over by Evelyn Asamoah sentenced religious leader Edward Buabeng to 519 years in prison.
Buabeng was sentenced on Monday (16 January) after being found guilty on 173 counts of conspiracy to commit a crime and defrauding by false pretences.
The convict will serve 80 years on each count, but the sentences will run concurrently.
Wilfred Brown, 58, an accountant, was acquitted and discharged by Asamoah on all charges.
Aubrey des-Bordes Mends, the third accused, escaped shortly after her plea was taken and bail was granted at the start of the case. The court issued an arrest warrant for Aubrey.
Nonetheless, the case was finally resolved after a three-year trial in which 12 witnesses from over 100 defrauded victims testified against the accused.
The complainants in the case were a husband and wife, John Osei-Kumi and Brenda Adolphine Appiah, according to Chief Inspector Benson Benneh, who prosecuted the case. He stated that the complainants are both marketers and bankers.
The court was also informed that the accused and complainants all reside in Accra’s Dansoman Community. He stated that John and Brenda invested US$7,000.00 and Brenda US$6,000.00 into the convict’s company, Career Link Marketers Company Limited, with an expected return of 40% for three months.
The complainants made the investment in July 2018, but when the deadline for the convict to pay their principal and interest passed in October of the same year, he failed.
Meanwhile, the complainants’ attempts to compel the convict to pay their money were futile, and the latter went into hiding.
As a result, the complainants filed a complaint with the Dansoman Police Station. Following that, the police received over 100 complaints from people who had been duped by Rev. Buabeng.
According to the police investigation, the complainants invested approximately GHC1,193,136 and US$185,408.00 in the convict’s company. The convict was arrested and detained by police for further investigation.
the prosecuting officer, Rev. Buabeng admitted the offense in his caution statement to the police but promised to refund the monies to the complainants because the company has the necessary resources.
C/Insp Benneh went on to say that the convict broke his promise. Despite the fact that Career Link Marketers Company Limited is registered with the Registrar General Department, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not granted it a permit to operate.
He went on to say that during the investigation, the convict paid a sum of GHC115,000.00, which was distributed to the complainants.
