A 30-year-old trader, Joseph Diawuo, has been sentenced to four years imprisonment by the Accra Circuit Court for defrauding a female police officer and 46 other victims in a recruitment scam involving the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, and the Ghana Armed Forces. Diawuo posed as a middleman with access to “protocol slots” in the security agencies, charging unsuspecting victims between GH¢6,000 and GH¢10,000 each.
The Scam
According to court records, Diawuo collected a total of GH¢308,000 from the victims, with 38 paying GH¢6,000 each and eight paying GH¢10,000 each. He promised to secure recruitment opportunities for them but failed to deliver. Instead, he used part of the money to organize medical examinations for the hopeful recruits at a facility in Santasi, Kumasi, before going into hiding and cutting off all communication with the complainant and victims.
Arrest and Conviction
The police officer reported the matter to her superiors after Diawuo went into hiding, leading to a manhunt and eventual arrest. During the trial, Diawuo pleaded not guilty, but the court found him guilty after considering evidence of the fraudulent transactions and testimonies from the victims. Presiding Judge Isaac Addo handed Diawuo a custodial sentence of four years.