Following the issuing of a bench warrant for her arrest, Ms Anna Jane Ghartey, a Juvenile Court Judge, has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court to face charges of fraud leveled against her by one Professor Joseph Adjaye based in the United States. Ms Ghartey who made her first appearance after the warrant with one Samuel Aidoo, a building contractor, was charged with four counts of conspiracy to commit crime, defrauding by false pretences, forgery of other documents and altering forged document before Justice Mahamadu Iddrissu. The Magistrate who is currently on interdiction is reported to have forged an indenture No.AR/1644/2007 in the name of Abli Adamah and through this false representation, deceived Professor Joseph Adjaye that she could sell a parcel of land at Adjiringanor to him after which she collected GH¢11,000. After pleading not guilty to the offences, the two were granted a GH¢30,000 bail with two sureties each to re-appear on July 28, 2009. Subsequent to this, the Magistrate, Aidoo and a certain Joana Nyarko, a fishmonger, were charged in another case of defrauding one Darcie Slavin, a Swiss national through a company called Sly and Co to the tune of $46,000. Ms Darcie Slavin, also wife of a Ghanaian named Francis Lartey, allegedly gave them the said money for the purchase of a land which she never received. The accused persons, after pleading not guilty to the charges, were granted a bail of GH¢40,000 with two sureties each. Telling the court how the Magistrate got in touch with the Professor, ASP Mary Agbozo, the prosecutor, disclosed that sometime in December 2006, Ms. Ghartey sold a parcel of land which she claimed belonged to a certain Rose Agboh to the complainant for ¢110 million (old). The prosecutor further stated that Ms. Ghartey, who succeeded in preparing a document in respect of the plot and registered it at the Lands Commission, claimed that Rose Agboh had instructed her to sell the piece of land. ASP Agbozo revealed that in August 2007, Ms. Ghartey again sold another plot which she claimed belonged to the same woman to the complainant for GH¢7,000.00; and the Professor commenced his project on the plots. However, the complainant was prevented by other developers who were also laying claim to the plots. According to the prosecutor, the complainant who did not understand what was happening conducted an official investigation into the plots at the Lands Commission which revealed they were registered in the name of one Abli Adamah. When the complainant confronted Ms. Ghartey and Aidoo about the plots, the two offered him two plots as replacement. The prosecutor said the duo provided an indenture purported to have been signed by Abli Adamah covering the land. However, when the complainant entered the land, it turned out to be property of one Opoku Mensah instead. According to the prosecutor, a report was made to the Police and both Ms. Ghartey and Aidoo were arrested. While investigation was ongoing, Ms. Ghartey allegedly promised to refund the complainant’s money to him with all expenses incurred on the plots, but failed to honour her promise. Instead, she allegedly gave the complainant another land at Agbogba, claiming it was her personal property, the prosecutor disclosed. Meanwhile, when the police, according to the prosecutor, visited the house of Abli Adamah, who allegedly signed the indenture covering the plots in question; it came to light that the said Abli Adamah died on June 24, 2005 at the age of ninety-eight and could not have signed any document in his lifetime as he was an illiterate. The accused persons failed to produce the said Rose Agboh whom they claimed instructed them to sell the plots. Source: Daily Guide