Jessica Oforiwa, a 35-year-old caterer and hairdresser, has been sentenced to five years in prison for stealing GH₵81,060 from GCB Bank customers using cloned cheques.
Oforiwa was convicted on seven charges, including abetment of crime and stealing, with the sentences running concurrently. Her accomplices—Dawda Sawdido, Mohammed Muktar, Fuseini Saeed Ibrahim, Felix Mensah, Lawrence Quarshie, and Philip Ansah—are still at large.
During sentencing, the court acknowledged Oforiwa’s status as a first-time offender and a mother of two but emphasized that her actions were premeditated. Oforiwa played a key role in aiding the other fugitives in misappropriating funds from the bank.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Seth Frimpong, who led the prosecution, urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence due to the growing number of similar crimes, which he said were harming financial institutions and destabilizing the economy.
On August 1, 2022, Philip Ansah and Livingston Ankomah used a cloned cheque to withdraw GH₵4,700 from the Kaneshie branch of GCB Bank, and attempted to withdraw an additional GH₵3,000 from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle branch. Their suspicious actions led to their arrest.
Ankomah confessed and was later imprisoned for his role in the scheme.
Oforiwa was arrested on December 24, 2022, by the Kwahu Nkwatia Police. During questioning, she admitted to using the Jesnat Cook cheques to steal GH₵81,060 and suggested that her boyfriend, Samuel Gyane Nyanteh, might have been involved.
The judge, after the verdict, urged financial institutions to strengthen their ICT systems and train staff, particularly tellers, to scrutinize cheques and other financial instruments thoroughly to prevent such fraud. The court emphasized the importance of safeguarding shareholder and depositor interests to maintain public trust.
Source: myghanadaily
