Jewel Oquaye Prempeh, 55 and Queen mother of Ayite Kortor Community, is alleged to have defrauded 15 job seekers in the sum of GH¢107,000.00.
The Queen mother allegedly promised to secure jobs at the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Audit Service, Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), Bank of Ghana, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and Narcotics Control Authority with the aforementioned amount.
Jewel Oquaye Prempeh is facing trial for failing to honour her promise after collecting the money from the job seekers, despite her alleged claim of having ties with high profile personalities at the seat of government, specifically the office of the Chief of Staff.
The 55 year-old Ayite Kortor Community Queen mother has pleaded not guilty to defrauding by false pretences before the Accra Circuit Court, presided over by His Honour Isaac Oheneba Kuffour last week.
The court has granted her bail in the sum of GH¢150,000, which must be justified.
Jewel Oquaye Prempeh is facing three suits at the Accra Circuit Court, two before Mr Oheneba Kuffour while the other is being tried by Mr. Samuel Bright Acquah.
In all, she has allegedly defrauded 34 people in a total of GH¢107,145,000 in the job scam.
In respect of the GH¢107,000 case, the prosecuting officer, Chief Inspector John Gohoho, told the court that the complainant is one Mohammed Ziblin Azindow, a supervising driver at unrevealed company and resides in Bolgatanga in the Upper East region.
According to him, in the year 2021, the accused informed the complainant during a conversation about a recruitment opportunity slots she had in the institutions mentioned above.
The accused, during their conversation with the complainant, also claimed that she knows high profile personalities at the seat of government, specifically at the office of the Chief of Staff.
The complainant, having shown interest in the topic after the discussion, was given bank details of the accused to make payment before the process begins.
On April 11, 2022 the complainant went and deposited cash in the sum of GH¢44,000 into the accused personal bank account as initial payment and also collected soft copies of certificates and application forms of the 15 applicants to start the process.
On that same day, the complainant made another payment of GH¢63,000 to the accused bank account, which sums up to GH¢107,000.
The accused, after receiving the money, acknowledged receipt and also promised to get jobs for the 15 applicants within two months, but failed and subsequently went into hiding.
All efforts made by the complainant to reach the accused proved futile and, therefore, reported the matter to the police.
On October 18, 2023, the accused was arrested and admitted the offence in her investigation cautioned statement. After investigation, she was charged with the offence and brought before the court.
In the second case, before Mr. Kuffour, the accused, with the same modus operandi collected GH¢52,000 to secure jobs for four applicants in the above institutions.
However, this time round the complainant is Siisu Baharu, a businessman and residents of Savelugu in the Northern region.
The prosecuting officer, Inspector Rosemond Anyane indicated that during the year 2021, the accused informed Siisu about her recruitment opportunity slots in the security services and other state agencies as well as her political ties in government.
After succeeding in convincing the complainant, she gave him her bank details to pay money to begin the enlistment process.
On September 8, 2021 the complainant deposited cash in the sum of GH¢24,000 into the accused personal bank account and forwarded soft copies of the applicants’ certificates, application forms and Curriculum Vitea, as well as their Ghana Cards details.
Similarly, on October 4, 2021 the complainant made another payment of GH¢20,000 to the same bank account and further paid GH¢8,000 in the same month to the accused mobile money wallet.
This brought the total sum of money to GH¢52,000 allegedly collected by the accused.
The accused after receiving the money together with the documents went into hiding.
She was later arrested on October 18, 2023 by the police and admitted the offence during investigation.
The court has granted her bail in the sum of GH¢50,000 with two sureties. She will reappear in court on March 4, 2024.
