Court sentences football coach for fraud

An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a football coach who defrauded three persons by recruiting them under the pretext of offering them playing opportunities outside the country.

Ken Augustt pleaded not guilty to the offence but he was found culpable after trial and sentenced to a fine of 300 penalty units equivalent to GHC3,600.00.

In default, he would serve 48 months imprisonment in hard labour.

In sentencing, the Court took into consideration the plea of Mr Lord Delvin Essandoh, the defence counsel for mitigation that the convict was a first offender, adding that the trial had taught him a lesson, which had made him remorseful.

Mr Essandoh said his client was the breadwinner of his family, and well known thus, prayed for a non-custodial sentence.

The Prosecution said the complainants were: Mr Akwasi Sekyere, Mr Akwasi Amankwah Afrifa and Mr Alexander Kwame Graham, footballers.

August, the convict is Public Relations Officer at the Quality Control Company, a subsidiary of the Ghana Cocoa Board.

In August 2014, the complainants were approached by Augustt who claimed he was a coach and could assist them to secure a Kuwait visa to pursue their football careers.

The Court heard that the convict convinced the complainants to pay a total sum of GHC8,400.00; GHC2,700.00 each for Mr Sekyere as well as Mr Afrifa and GHC3,000.00 for Graham and promised to have the visas ready in a month.

The Prosecution said as soon as the convict took the money, he went into hiding.

Weeks turned into months without any sign of the visas and after waiting fruitlessly for ten months, the matter was reported to the Police and he was arrested.

He admitted the offence and claimed to have given the money to one Bartel, which he failed to lead the Police too.