50-year-old woman jailed two years for defrauding seven people of rent

A 50-year-old unemployed woman, who was put before the Tarkwa District Court Two for defrauding seven people has been sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour.

Benedicta Kwakye, alias Esi Mary, pleaded guilty to seven counts of defrauding by false pretense.

The court presided over by Mr. Isaac Osei Asare, convicted Benedicta to two years imprisonment with hard labour on each count, but the sentence would run concurrently.

Police Sergeant Adwoa Yeboah, prosecuting said the complainant, Rebecca Kwofie was a trader, and lived in Cyanide, a suburb of Tarkwa in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality.

She said in April this year, the complainant was looking for a room to rent, made her neighbours aware of her plans.

Prosecution said on April 18, 2025, Benedicta reached out to the complainant and said she heard she was looking for a room to rent, and the complainant responded in the affirmative.

She said Benedicta told her she had a room and was offering it for rent at GHC70.00 per month, the complainant expressed interest, so the convict took her to see a room in her house as the one for rent.

Police Sergeant Yeboah said the complainant was pleased with the room, and Benedicta agreed to rent it for three years and collected GH¢2,500 as an advance payment.

The prosecutor said after the initial payment, the Convict told the complainant that she needed three weeks to get the room ready before she could hand over the keys, but she failed to honor her promise, and the complainant kept going to her house to follow up.

During one of the complainant’s visits, she met the landlord, narrated what had transpired between her and the convict, and he explained to her that the room had already been occupied by someone who had traveled.

She said the complainant immediately contacted Benedicta on phone and asked her to return her money, but she kept ignoring her.

The prosecutor said on July 8, 2025, the complainant had a tip-off that Benedicta was in custody at the Tarkwa Central Police Station for a similar offence, so she went to the police station, identified the convict in a cell as the person who defrauded her, and lodged a formal complaint.

Police Sergeant Yeboah added that investigations by the police revealed that Benedicta defrauded six others under the pretext of renting the same room to them.

Again, she said the convict alleged that she invested the money she collected from her victims into trading, but the money was stolen from her when she went to Accra to purchase goods to resell.

GNA