Trader jailed 4 years for Ghghs308,000 security service recruitment scam

An accra circuit court has sentenced a 30-year-old trader, joseph diawuo, to four years imprisonment 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, who resided at dominase in the ashanti region, was convicted on charges of defrauding by false pretences after he posed as a middleman with access to “protocol slots” in the three security agencies.

He charged unsuspecting victims between gh¢6,000 and gh¢10,000 each, promising them recruitment opportunities that never materialised.

How the scheme worked

The case, prosecuted by assistant superintendent of police (asp) seth frimpong, revealed that the complainant, a female police officer stationed at the airport barracks in accra, first encountered diawuo about a year ago.

Diawuo convinced her that he could secure protocol recruitment slots for interested individuals at a fee.

Believing him, the officer mobilised 46 young men and women who were desperate to join the security services. according to court records, 38 of the applicants paid gh¢6,000 each, amounting to gh¢228,000, while the remaining eight paid gh¢10,000 each, totalling gh¢80,000.

The entire scheme generated gh¢308,000.

Part of the fees—gh¢1,500 per person—was earmarked for mandatory medical screening.

Following diawuo’s instructions, the complainant transferred some of the money to his mobile money account and used the rest to organise medical examinations for the hopeful recruits at a facility in santasi, kumasi.

The disappearance and arrest

after collecting the funds, diawuo went into hiding and cut off all communication with the complainant and the victims. with mounting pressure from the affected families, the police officer reported the matter to her superiors, leading to a manhunt. diawuo was eventually tracked down and arrested.

During the trial, he pleaded not guilty, but presiding judge isaac addo found him guilty after the prosecution presented evidence of the fraudulent transactions and testimonies from the victims.

He was handed a custodial sentence of four years.