Teacher, 60, arrested for GHC25,000 fraud

A 60-year-old retired teacher, Mark Kwadwo Dzamasi has been arrested by the Police in Asesewa in the Eastern region for defrauding some Teachers and Pastors to the tune of GHc25,000 under the guise of assisting them to travel to South Africa to train as peer educators.

According to the Asesewa district police commander Superintendent Stephen Kofi Ahiatafu, the suspect was once a teacher but now claims to be a peer educator for Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG).

He explained that the suspect used two names; Mark Kwadwo Dzamasi and Mark day Akkers to defraud his victims.

On December 2015, the suspect forged introductory letters from the University of Ghana, French Embassy and PPAG and submitted them to the district Chief Executive of Upper Manya Krobo, Joseph Amgbor, the district director of Education and the Local Council of Churches as a student pursuing a doctorate degree in Systematic Counselling at Legon hence in the district to undertake research activities.

Supt. Ahiatu further explained that the suspect was subsequently introduced to some local churches including the Assemblies of God, Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and Christian Outreach Ministry as well as the education directorate.

The suspect managed to train about forty members of the churches mentioned above in counselling techniques between the periods of December 2015 to May 2016.

According to Supt. Ahiatu, the suspect deceived his victims that, the French Embassy and PPAG are his sponsors adding that opportunity has been provided for the participants to go to South Africa for further training.

He subsequently asked that they pay various fees ranging from GHC100-Ghc2,100 for medicals, Passport and other traveling documents totaling Ghc25,000.

After succeeding in defrauding his victims, the suspect bolted from the community to hide in Volta region in a village called Dzolokpuita in the Ho West to embark on a similar modus operandi.