The Amasaman Circuit Court has granted a GH¢100,000 bail with two sureties to a 53-year-old house help, Faustina Boatemaa, who is facing charges of defrauding a businessman of GH¢80,000 under the pretext of selling land.
Boatemaa pleaded not guilty to conspiring with one Patrick Darko, currently at large, to defraud Mr. Samuel Tweneboah. The alleged deal involved the sale of a 0.12-acre parcel of land with an uncompleted church structure.
Presiding judge, Justice Enid Sarful-Sau—a High Court Judge sitting with additional responsibility at the Circuit Court—ordered Boatemaa to reappear on August 7, 2025.
Presenting the facts, Police Chief Inspector Frederick Awuah-Ansah told the court that Mr. Tweneboah, a businessman residing at Satellite in Accra, was introduced to the land offer in September 2023 by his sister, Lydia Tweneboah, who had been approached by Boatemaa.
According to the prosecution, Boatemaa told Lydia that her brother, Patrick Darko, who was in South Africa, owned the land and was selling it. Boatemaa subsequently led Lydia and the complainant to inspect the land and the structure at Satellite.
Following negotiations, the complainant agreed to pay GH¢80,000 for the property. An initial part payment of GH¢40,000 was made. Later, on September 15, 2023, GH¢20,000 was transferred into a bank account provided by Darko. Another GH¢20,000 was sent on October 2, 2023, to a different account given by the same individual—completing the GH¢80,000 payment.
Boatemaa later issued a land indenture to Mr. Tweneboah, which turned out to be fake, the prosecution noted.
In December 2023, the complainant deposited 1,000 cement blocks on the land in preparation for development. However, a voice message from Darko, relayed through the complainant’s father-in-law, instructed him to vacate the property.
During a follow-up visit to the land that same month, the complainant discovered an inscription on the uncompleted structure reading: “Property of Marbel family, Stay off.”
After repeated failed attempts to reach Boatemaa and Darko, Mr. Tweneboah reported the matter to the Adjen Kotoku Police, leading to Boatemaa’s arrest.
During police interrogation, Boatemaa admitted to showing the land to the complainant and receiving GH¢40,000 as part payment. She was subsequently charged and arraigned after investigations.
The police are now seeking a court order to compel the banks that received the payments to release photographs and details of the account holders to aid in ongoing investigations.
— GNA
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