An Accra Circuit Court has remanded into police custody a 45-year-old woman, Faustina Foli, who allegedly defrauded an insurance officer of GHC265,000.
Foli, who is unemployed, is accused of deceiving the complainant by promising to secure a United States visa and three Canadian visas but failed to deliver.
She has been charged with defrauding by false pretences and has pleaded not guilty.
The court, presided over by Mr Isaac Addo, rejected a bail application made by the defence counsel, Mr Chris Akummey, after the prosecution opposed it.
The prosecution argued that Foli had previously jumped bail after being granted bail by the Weija Circuit Court.
As a result, the court denied bail and ordered the prosecution to file their disclosures within two weeks.
The case was adjourned to December 24, 2024.
The prosecution also pointed out that Foli had committed the same offence while on bail, leading to her re-arrest.
Chief Inspector Jonas Lawer, who represented the prosecution, recounted that Foli and her lawyer had provided conflicting addresses and noted that the defendant had previously absconded while facing similar charges.
In response, Mr. Akummey, the defence counsel, requested the court to reconsider the bail application.
He denied the accusation that Foli was Togolese, stating that she was a native of the Volta Region and had family members present in court.
Mr. Akummey argued that Foli had committed the offence without fully understanding its consequences.
“I am on bended knees praying for bail because my client has been in custody for more than 10 days,” he pleaded.
The prosecution’s case revealed that the complainant, Daniel Acquay, an insurance officer residing at Bortianor, became involved in the fraudulent scheme after Faustina Foli, a resident of Ablekuma, approached him in October 2024.
Foli claimed that her fiancé, one Charles Agbele, worked at the Canadian High Commission and was facilitating the issuance of Canadian and U.S. visas at a reduced cost and with less hassle.
Foli showed the complainant copies of Canadian visas, which she claimed were obtained by her fiancé for other applicants.
Convinced by this, Acquay expressed interest in securing Canadian and U.S. visas for his daughter and three other relatives.
He then handed over various sums of money totalling GHC265,000 to Foli for the visas.
Foli promised to deliver the visas within a month. However, after receiving the money and passports from the applicants, she went into hiding, and all attempts to reach her proved unsuccessful.
Suspecting fraud, Acquay reported the matter to the police.
In her caution statement, Foli admitted to collecting the money, stating that she had been instructed by Charles Agbele to give the funds to one “Kojo.”
However, Foli failed to provide the police with useful information about Kojo to aid their investigation.
The prosecution also revealed that they were extending their investigation to the Canadian High Commission to verify whether Charles Agbele was employed there.
Additionally, Foli had initially claimed to be a Togolese national.
However, when searched, a Ghana Card was found on her, and it was also discovered that she did not have a fixed address.
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