The Accra Circuit Court has granted bail to Richard Osel, a 33-year-old phone repairer, and Wisdom Kortortsi, a 59-year-old lotto agent, who have been charged with dishonestly appropriating GH₵ 160,000 belonging to Alpha Lotto Company Limited.
The accused persons are facing charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, specifically stealing, contrary to Section 23(1) and 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29).
They are also charged with forgery of other documents, contrary to Section 159 of the same Act, as amended by Paragraph 5 of NLCD 398.
Her Honour Susana Eduful, presiding over the case, granted bail to the accused with specific conditions.
Richard Osel was granted bail in the sum of GH₵100,000 with two sureties, who must be public servants earning not less than GH₵4,000.
Wisdom Kortortsi was granted bail in the sum of GH₵50,000 with two sureties, who must be family members.
The case is expected to continue as investigations and legal proceedings progress.
Background of Case
According to the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Daniel Danku, the complainant, Henry Quarshie, a supervisor at Alpha Lotto Company Limited and a resident of Madina, detected the fraudulent activities of the accused persons, leading to their arrest.
The first accused, Richard Osei, a phone repairer residing at High Street, Accra, and the second accused, Wisdom Kortortsi, an agent of Alpha Lotto Company Limited, allegedly conspired to defraud the company of GH₵ 160,000. Kortortsi was responsible for receiving closed lotto booklets and their proceeds before delivering them to the Alpha Lotto head office.
On July 22, 2024, Richard Osei visited Wisdom Kortortsi at his office at Tema Station, Accra, immediately after the winning lotto numbers were announced. Osei then took a blank booklet and wrote the winning numbers on it, creating a fake winning ticket worth GH₵160,000.
As the custodian of the closed booklets, Kortortsi handed over a sack containing the legitimate closed booklets, locked with a padlock, to Osei. Osei then inserted the fake winning tickets into the bag in Kortortsi’s presence.
Later, Kortortsi took the bag to the Alpha Lotto headquarters and, a few days after, presented the fake duplicate booklets as genuine winning tickets.
As a result, the company paid out GH₵160,000 to him. He then handed over the money to Osei, and they shared the amount equally.
The fraudulent transaction was later uncovered by Henry Quarshie, who confronted Kortortsi. Upon questioning, Kortortsi admitted to the crime and led the police to arrest Osei.
During investigations, both accused persons confessed to the crime and pleaded for an opportunity to refund the stolen amount.
Kortortsi managed to return GH₵70,000, with GH₵10,000 still outstanding. Osei, on the other hand, refunded only GH₵5,000 out of the GH₵ 80,000 he received.
Following the investigation, both accused persons were charged and arraigned before the court.
