- Ernestina Koranteng is accused of stealing and defrauding money
- She took money but didn’t build the house or pharmacy
- She was arrested after the fraud was reported
A 47-year-old teacher, Ernestina Koranteng, has appeared in an Accra Circuit Court on charges of stealing $11,000 and defrauding a Ghanaian resident in the United States of $33,400 between 2020 and 2021.
She is accused of taking the money to build a house at Ablekuma-Joma in Accra and open a pharmacy shop for the complainant but failed to fulfill these promises.
Instead, Koranteng allegedly took the complainant to a rented short-term accommodation in Dansoman, claiming it was purchased for her. She also falsely stated that she had built the house, but it was later demolished.
Koranteng faces two charges of stealing and two counts of defrauding by false pretenses. She pleaded not guilty.
Presiding over the case, Mr. Isaac Addo granted her bail of one million Ghana cedis with three sureties who must live within the court’s jurisdiction.
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Daniel Ofori-Appiah, was instructed to follow disclosure procedures. The case was adjourned to April 9, 2025.
According to the prosecution, the complainant is from Akim Asafo in the Eastern Region but lives in the United States, while the accused resides in Dansoman, Accra.
In 2020, the complainant shipped two cars, a Chevrolet Sonic sedan worth $5,500 and a VW Passat sedan valued at $6,000, and entrusted them to Koranteng. The accused sold both vehicles and claimed the proceeds were used to develop land she had purchased for the complainant at Ablekuma-Joma. The complainant later sent an additional $18,400 for the land’s development.
In 2024, Koranteng persuaded the complainant to send $15,000 to open a pharmacy.
When the complainant returned to Ghana in December 2024 and requested to see the house and pharmacy, Koranteng showed her a house in Dansoman with GPS number GA-507-7636, falsely claiming it was purchased for her. When the complainant asked to inspect the house, Koranteng said the caretaker was away.
Regarding the pharmacy, Koranteng admitted none existed.
Alarmed, the complainant reported the case to the police on January 22, 2025, leading to Koranteng’s arrest the next day. Investigations revealed that the house in Dansoman was not owned by the complainant but was a short-term rental, and there was no pharmacy.
On January 23, 2025, Koranteng took the police to an empty plot of land at Ablekuma-Joma, claiming it was where she had built the house, but the site had been demolished. However, investigations showed no evidence of any house being demolished at that location.
