Nana Appiah Mensah, alias Nam1, is alleged to have created an office by name ‘playboy’ and directed customers to make payments before their investments with Men’s Gold and Brew Consultant would be released to them.
Fred Odame Aseidu, fourth prosecution witness (PW4) and a customer of the defunct companies of Nam1, testified before the Accra High Court, presided over by Justice Ernest Owusu-Dapaa, that in order for his investment to be released to him, he was required to acquire a card for the validation.
Nevertheless, none of these steps he took yielded a desirable result, as his investments are still locked up in Menz Gold and Brew Consult.
The following is the cross examination;
Q. Please give your full name to the court.
A. My name is Fred Odame Aseidu.
Q. What work do you do?
A. I’m a trader.
Q. Do you know Nana Appiah Mensah, alias Nam 1?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you know Menz Gold Ghana Company?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you also know Brew Marketing Consultant?
A. Yes.
Q. In respect of these three; Nam 1, Menz Gold Company Limited and Brew Consult, did you cause a witness statement to be made for you?
A. Yes.
Q. Take a look at this statement and turn to the last page, can you identify your name and signature?
A. Yes, I have my name and signature on it.
Q. Please tell the court the date you signed on the witness statement?
A. It was signed on 25th October, 2023.
Prosecution: We wish that the witness of Fred Odame is adopted by the court.
Counsel: No objection.
Court: Let the witness statement of Fred Asiedu, filed on November 16, 2023 at 11:07am be admitted as his evidence in chief and so adopted.
(The witness read his witness statement to the court. Indicating that he has a shop at Kantamanto and invested money to the tune of GH¢1.2 million in Menz Gold and Brew Consultant)
Cross Examination by Defence Counsel
Q. So on 25th October, 2023 you gave your statement to the Ghana Police Service?
A. Yes.
Q. Where was it taken?
A. At the Police Headquarters.
Q. And it was the same day that you also signed a witness statement with the Attorney-General?
A. Yes.
Counsel tenders the statement through the witness;
Court: The statement given by the witness to the police on October 25, 2023 is marked as Exhibit A4.
Q. Your signature appears at the bottom of Exhibit A4?
A. That is so.
Q. I’m suggesting to you that this statement was not given to the Ghana Police Service?
A. I gave it to the Ghana Police Service.
Q. The Ghana Police Service has not signed onto the statement you tendered today?
A. I cannot tell why the police did not sign, but the Exhibit is a form from the Ghana Police Service.
Q. There is no evidence that this statement was given to the police?
A. I visited the police headquarters myself and I gave them my statement.
Q: The events you complained about in Exhibit A4 occurred in 2018 and the date in Exhibit A4 is 25th October, 2023, five years later.
A. Yes, before then I had already lodged a complaint with the Police. The reason I lodged the complaint was that I realised there was deceit in my dealings with A2 & A3.
Q. On 25th October, 2023 you did not make a legitimate complaint with the police?
A. I lodged a complaint with the police because I realised there was deceit in my dealing with the accused person. It compounds our problem.
Q. There is no evidence before this court that you made a previous complaint to the police?
A: The first time I went to the police, I was given a form and I wrote the amount Menz Gold was supposed to pay me. And that was my first time visiting the police headquarters.
Eventually, l realised that I have been deceived in the business.
The first complaint was not official. The reason why the complaint was not official was because I was given a form and I write all the debt A2 owes me. My lord, I apologise for saying that the first complaint was not official because it was not written as the one on 25th October 2023 when I went to the police.
Q. You just told the court that you went to police to make a complaint because after 5 years, you now feel that you were being deceived?
A. Yes. After 2018 and 2019 he (Nam1) asked us to do validation, whereby I presented all my documents and all this while I thought the transaction were genuine. Later on, he introduced something called playboy and we were directed to the playboy office to make payment, after which our monies will be paid to us. All this still while l though it was genuine.
He further introduced another card for validation and it was after I bought this card that I realised that I was being deceived. That is why from 2018 to 2023, I have not sent the matter to the police. This was because every year he introduces something new. That is why it took me this long to make the complaint.
Q. Please show to the witness Exhibit A4. It is in your own handwriting?
A. No. It was written for me and I signed.
Q. Whoever wrote it down for you did not sign?
A. My lord, the person who wrote the statement for me is not my witness.
Q. Please, look at Exhibit A4 and tell the court, which part of the exhibit reflects your words about being deceived?
A. I did not write deceit but I made the complaint.
Since 2018, if the business he was running was not deceitful, he would have paid us our money.
