The Circuit Court in Accra, presided over by His Honour Isaac Addo, has sentenced a 29-year-old trader, Boniface Zuur, to five years imprisonment for stealing GH¢130,000 from a seamstress, under the pretext of safeguarding her funds, which he later confessed to using to gamble on the Aviator online betting game.
The accused, a mobile money (MoMo) merchant, residing at Maamobi in the Greater Accra Region, was convicted on his own plea of guilty to stealing contrary to Section 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
The court found him guilty of dishonestly appropriating money entrusted to him by the complainant, identified as Yussif Zoogah, a seamstress and cloth trader who lives in the same house.
According to the prosecution, led by Inspector Vivian T. Gyabaah, the incident occurred in May 2025 when the complainant, fearing she might fall victim to mobile money fraudsters, sought assistance from the accused. This was after receiving calls from scammers.
She authorised Zuur to withdraw cash from her MoMo account and keep it safely on her behalf, with the understanding that she would collect the money later when needed.
Over several transactions, Zuur withdrew a total of GH¢130,000.
However, on July 9, 2025 when the complainant approached him to retrieve the money, he admitted to having spent it all on Aviator, a popular online betting platform.
A complaint was immediately lodged at the Kotobabi Police Station. Following his arrest by No. 51090 D/CPL Senyo Mawusi, Zuur confessed in his caution statement to using the funds to gamble. He was subsequently charged and brought before the court.
Delivering the sentence, His Honour Isaac Addo noted the breach of trust and the growing concern over online gambling among the youth, stating that a custodial sentence was necessary to serve as a deterrent. Zuur will serve his five-year sentence at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison.
