Businesswoman in $13,000 fraud case remanded again

A 62-year-old woman is accused of defrauding another businesswoman of $13,000. The Madina District Court has remanded her again. The court denied her bail application through her lawyers.

Judge Abena Asoh Owusu-Omenyo expressed concerns about the accused's reliability. She doubted that Nana Ama Nwarueze, known as Ohemaa, would attend trial if released. The judge ordered a thorough investigation into Nwarueze’s background.

The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Apewa Achana, charged her with defrauding by false pretence. Nwarueze was arrested after a bench warrant was issued last December. She has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Chief Inspector Achana explained the case details. The complainant, Dorothy Asare, met Nwarueze through a mutual friend. Nwarueze claimed to be a wealthy businesswoman with several properties.

She allegedly owned Ohemaa Plaza at East Legon and fishing vessels in Takoradi. She also claimed to have goods at Tema Port and requested $5,000 from Asare to clear them. Nwarueze promised to refund the money within three weeks.

When Asare hesitated, Nwarueze showed her an apartment project in partnership with Devtraco. This convinced Asare to give her $5,000 at Airport Residential Area.

A month later, Nwarueze asked for an additional $8,000 for port issues. She promised to repay the full $13,000 within two weeks. Asare complied but did not receive any repayment after three weeks.

Nwarueze began making excuses and became unreachable. Asare later discovered that the property did not belong to Nwarueze and she had no partnership with Devtraco.

Chief Inspector Achana stated that Nwarueze vacated without leaving any trace. Investigations revealed no containers existed at Ghanaian ports as claimed by the accused. The prosecution concluded that all representations were false and intended to defraud Asare of $13,000.