A 61-year-old car dealer, Emmanuel Reginald Lamptey, appeared before the Dansoman Circuit Court yesterday facing two counts of fraud and forgery in connection with a 2017 car sale that allegedly turned out to be a scam.
The accused, a resident of Osu, was charged with defrauding by false pretence and forgery of official documents, contrary to Sections 131 and 158 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), respectively.
He, however, pleaded not guilty before the presiding judge, Her Honour Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit.
According to court documents presented by Inspector Esther Mensah, led by Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder, Mr. Lamptey defrauded Nii Boafo Dangina-Nse, a sub-chief (Djase) of New Weija of GH¢85,000 under the pretext of selling to him a genuine Range Rover vehicle.
The incident reportedly occurred in November 2017 when Alhaji Farouk Moro, a mutual acquaintance of both the complainant and the accused introduced Nii Dangina-Nse to an unregistered Range Rover that Lamptey was selling.
After inspecting the vehicle, the complainant agreed to purchase it for GH¢85,000 making an initial payment of GH¢70,000 and later paid the remaining GH¢15,000 for registration.
However, after handing over the vehicle, Lamptey allegedly issued the complainant a fake DVLA registration form and license plate—GC 2108-14.
It was not until 2024 that the vehicle was intercepted by customs officials, who found that the chassis number had been tampered with.
The complainant lodged an official report with the Odorkor Police on April 22, 2025, after years of unsuccessful attempts to resolve the matter.
During police interrogation, Lamptey claimed the car was brought to him by a third party, one Osei Tutu, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.
He also alleged that the complainant was aware the car was a transit vehicle at the time of purchase.
Following his plea of not guilty to both charges, the court granted him bail in the sum of GH¢90,000 with two sureties, both to be justified.
As part of his bail conditions, he must deposit his Ghana Card with the court registry and report to the police every two weeks.
The case is scheduled for Case Management Conference (CMC) on June 28, 2025 during which the prosecution will file disclosures and witness statements.
