The Accra Circuit Court 9 has remanded 35-year-old trader Benjamin Appiah Boateng into police custody following allegations of defrauding two individuals of USD300,000 and GHC10,445,000 through fraudulent online investments.
Boateng is accused of taking the funds from Mr. Berry Kwadwo Agyapong and Mr. David Burke by promising to invest them in UDST and Binance cryptocurrency platforms. His plea was not taken as he is under investigation for theft and fraud.
Presiding over the case, Mr. Samuel Bright Acquah ordered Boateng to appear in court again on January 13, 2025.
Police Chief Inspector Jonas Lawer informed the court that both complainants, Mr. Burke, a businessman, and Mr. Agyapong, a business consultant, reside in Accra.
Boateng, a trader from Oyibi, was introduced to Mr. Burke by Mr. Agyapong, who had already invested approximately USD300,000 in UDST and Binance.
Mr. Agyapong convinced Mr. Burke of the investment’s profitability, leading Burke to invest an initial sum of GHC555,000. Later, Burke entrusted Boateng with an additional GHC9,890,000 to further increase the investment.
Despite assurances from Boateng that the investments were progressing well and dividends were being paid, Mr. Burke sought to withdraw his capital and dividends on December 14, 2024, only to discover discrepancies in the promised returns. The case continues under investigation.
The court heard that upon Mr Burke’s request to end the investments, Boateng stopped answering phone calls from both complainants.
This led Mr. Burke to contact Mr. Agyapong about the accused’s behaviour.
When Mr Agyapong called Boateng to inquire why he had been ignoring their calls, Boateng reportedly sent a WhatsApp voice note along with a purported suicide note.
In the note, Boateng claimed that he had gambled away their entire investments on an online gambling platform called “Stake.”
A report was made to the police, which led to Boateng’s arrest.
During questioning, he admitted to the offences.
