An Adentan Circuit Court has convicted a sales assistant who admitted stealing GH¢353,471.50 from his employer after claiming the money was needed to facilitate his marriage, only for investigations to uncover a wider fraudulent scheme involving several alleged accomplices.

The convict, Alfred Mensah, pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing. The court ordered him to refund the entire amount and imposed a fine of GH¢12,000.

In the event of default of payment, he will serve a two-year prison sentence. Five other accused persons are standing trial on various charges, including abetment of crime and dishonestly receiving stolen property.

Those facing trial are trader Mary Asantewaa, pastor Emmanuel Okyere, Samuel Dika, Miriam Okai and trader Vida Yeboah, aged 59. Apart from Mensah, all pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sum of GH¢353,471 each with justification.

Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo, prosecuting, told the court that the complainant, Gideon Offei Tieku, operates a plumbing materials business at Lakeside and Kantamanto and had employed Mensah for seven years.

Investigations established that between 2024 and 2025, the businessman suffered unexplained financial losses before discovering that Mensah had allegedly collected plumbing materials worth GH¢56,000 from a business partner without making payment.

After his arrest on June 17, 2025, Mensah admitted stealing from his employer and claimed he had transferred the money to Mary Asantewaa and Samuel Dika after informing them that he wanted to marry and that they had promised to help him find a wife.

Police investigations, however, revealed that the scheme escalated after Mensah was allegedly persuaded to send additional money when he was told the supposed bride had developed a kidney condition and required urgent medical treatment in South Africa.

In total, investigators said he transferred GH¢353,471.50 through Asantewaa's mobile money account.

Further enquiries led to the arrest of Asantewaa, who allegedly implicated Dika, while subsequent investigations linked Emmanuel Okyere, Miriam Okai and Vida Yeboah as beneficiaries of portions of the stolen funds.

The case against the remaining accused persons is continuing before the court.