An Accra High Court has sentenced a Ghanaian woman, who conspired with a Nigerian to defraud a US citizen of an unspecified amount of money, to 18 months’ imprisonment.

Vida Patty Agboletey, under the fraudulent name of Elizabeth Caldwell and her accomplice, Chigozie Awom, aka Davis Wingate, between 2012 and 2013 duped the US citizen of unspecified amount of money and other materials, including mobile phones, laptops and digital game.

Her accomplice was the main architect behind the fraud while the money was lodged into her accounts.
The convict and her partner were, however, unable to withdraw the money because the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) froze the account due to the suspicion of fraud and money laundering.

Apart from the custodial sentence, the court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, sentenced Agboletey to pay a fine of GHC12,000.00 or in default spend 48 months in jail. EOCO has also been ordered by the court to transmit US$20,000.00 in the convict’s frozen bank account at Fidelity Bank.

Awom reportedly met the complainant, who is a flight attendant with US Airways on an online dating site. The two later established a relationship and Awom began to demand items and money from the American.

He reportedly asked for money and promised to pay back the money after the completion of a purported project in Ghana. The court, at the end of the trial, found Agboletey guilty of two charges; conspiracy to defraud by false pretenses and money laundering.