A 62-year-old self-styled businesswoman, Nana Ama Nwurueze, has been remanded into custody for allegedly defrauding another businesswoman of $13,000 under false pretenses.
Nwurueze is accused of posing as a wealthy business mogul, claiming ownership of expensive properties, including Ohemaa Plaza at East Legon, fishing vessels in Takoradi, and a house at Airport, in a bid to convince the complainant, Dorothy Asare, to give her money.
She has been charged with defrauding by false pretenses and was arrested following a bench warrant issued for her in December last year after multiple failed attempts to apprehend her.
Appearing before the Adabraka District Court, presided over by Abena Asoh Owusu-Omenyo, Nwurueze pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Her lawyer, George Asamani, applied for bail, arguing that she had been unwell and had no intention of evading trial. He assured the court that his client would attend all proceedings if granted bail.
However, the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Apewa Achana, opposed the bail application, insisting that Nwurueze was a flight risk.
The prosecutor noted that the accused had gone into hiding after initially being granted police inquiry bail and had failed to appear in court, instead submitting questionable medical excuse letters.
“She always rents apartments for limited periods. If not for the publication we did after the bench warrant was issued, we wouldn’t have been able to arrest her,” Chief Inspector Achana argued.
The court denied the bail application, ruling that there was sufficient evidence to suggest that the accused would not make herself available for trial if released.
According to the prosecution, the complainant, Dorothy Asare, met Nwurueze through a mutual friend. The accused allegedly presented herself as a successful businesswoman with numerous properties in Accra.
She reportedly told Asare that she had over 10 containers of goods at the Takoradi port and needed $5,000 to clear them, promising to refund the money within three weeks.
To further convince Asare, Nwurueze allegedly claimed to be in partnership with real estate developer Devtracco and showed her an ongoing apartment construction project, which she claimed was on her property and would generate significant income.
Believing the claims, Asare handed over the $5,000 to Nwurueze at her residence in Airport. A month later, Nwurueze allegedly requested an additional $8,000, claiming it was needed to resolve an issue at the port. She again promised to repay the money within two weeks.
Asare obliged, but after three weeks, Nwurueze failed to return the money and stopped responding to the complainant’s calls.
After several months without any refund, Asare discovered that Nwurueze did not own the Airport property, had no partnership with Devtracco, and had vacated her residence without a trace.
The case was first reported to the Airport Police Station in 2021, but efforts to arrest the accused were unsuccessful. Asare later petitioned the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), leading to Nwurueze’s arrest in March 2025.
During investigations, police found no evidence that Nwurueze had any containers at any Ghanaian port.
The prosecution alleges that all her representations were deliberately made to deceive Asare into handing over the $13,000.
