Two men have appeared before the Accra Circuit Court, accused of fraudulent activities that allegedly led to the loss of GHS160,000 belonging to Alfa Lotto Company Limited.

The defendants, Richard Osei, a supervisor at Alfa Lotto, and Wisdom Korkortsi, a phone repairer, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit crime, forgery of documents, and stealing.

How the alleged fraud occurred

A report by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) provided details of the court proceedings and the alleged fraudulent activities.

According to Chief Inspector Daniel Danku, the complainant, Henry Quarshie, also a supervisor at Alfa Lotto, reported that on July 22, 2024, Osei visited Korkortsi at his office at Tema Station, Accra, shortly after the winning lotto numbers were announced.

Osei allegedly took a blank lotto booklet and wrote the winning numbers on it, totalling GHS160,000.

Korkortsi, whose responsibility was to receive closed lotto booklets and proceeds for onward submission to Alfa Lotto’s head office, allegedly handed over a locked bag containing the closed booklets to Osei.

Osei purportedly inserted the fabricated winning tickets into the bag while Korkortsi was present.

When the bag was delivered to Alfa Lotto headquarters, the forged tickets were presented as legitimate, leading to a GHS160,000 payout, which the two allegedly shared equally.

Arrest and court proceedings

Upon discovering the fraud, the complainant confronted Korkortsi, who admitted involvement and led police to arrest Osei.

During investigations, both men allegedly admitted to their roles and offered to refund the stolen amount. Korkortsi returned GHS70,000, leaving a balance of GHS10,000, while Osei reimbursed only GHS5,000 out of the GHS80,000 he received.

Presiding Judge Mrs. Susan Eduful granted the accused persons bail. Osei was granted bail of GHS100,000 with two sureties, who must be public servants earning at least GHS4,000 per month. Korkortsi was admitted to bail at GHS50,000, with two sureties, who must be family members.

The case has been adjourned for further proceedings as investigations continue.