A 34-year-old former field officer of the National Trust Holding Company (NTHC) Trustee was found guilty of stealing GH¢96,490 from some of the company’s clients and was sentenced to five years in prison with hard labor by a Tarkwa Circuit Court.
Comfort Asante, the prisoner who entered a not guilty plea to charges of forgery and theft, stated that she took the money to assist in paying off a debt that her mother owed.
The court, presided over by Mrs. Hathia Ama Manu, found her guilty on both charges and condemned her after a thorough trial, emphasizing the need to discourage others from committing similar crimes.
Chief Superintendent of Police Alex Odonkor, the prosecutor, informed the court that the complainant was an NTHC Trustee, a business authorized by Ghanaian law to oversee pension plans.
He clarified that among the convict’s duties were daily fieldwork to register clients, educate the public, and collect contributions for the company’s Tier Three Pension Scheme, also called the SSNIT Informal Scheme Product (SISP).
Asante was also responsible for updating customers’ passbooks and precisely entering contributions into the company’s system via an official cell phone that was provided to her.
Receipt numbers were created automatically by the system, and clients received text message alerts to verify their payments.
Some contributors complained to the corporation between May 2 and May 5, 2023, about not receiving alerts for contributions made through Asante, according to Chief Superintendent Odonkor.
After examining the passbooks of the impacted contributors, the business found differences between the numbers put into its system and those documented in the books.
Additionally, it was discovered that the receipt numbers Asante entered into the passbooks of its customers were not produced by the business’s computer system.
Asante was arrested when the corporation filed a police complaint on May 17, 2023. She acknowledged the offense in her caution statement during the course of the investigation.
Asante had fraudulently embezzled GH¢96,490, which represented payments made by 32 clients through her, according to an internal audit conducted by the company’s auditors.
Source: newsthemegh.com