Lawyer in court for defrauding US-based nurse of $150k
An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail to Magdalene Aba Amporful, a 28-year-old lawyer accused of taking $150,000 from a US-based nurse for a house purchase that investigators say never happened.
Amporful has been charged with defrauding by false pretence and has pleaded not guilty. The court admitted her to bail in the sum of GH¢100,000, with two sureties (one to be justified), and ordered her to report to the police every two weeks. The case has been adjourned to 19 March 2026 for a case management conference.
Prosecutor ASP Seth Frimpong told the court the complainant, Dorcas Koomson Ayittey, contacted Amporful in 2020 seeking help to buy a four-bedroom house in Ghana.
He said Amporful first claimed she had found a property in Cape Coast costing $75,000. Ayittey allegedly transferred the amount, which Amporful confirmed receiving.
The prosecution said Amporful later proposed a different property at Spintex, said to be from Western View Villa Estate, priced at $150,000. She allegedly told Ayittey the Cape Coast deal had been dropped and claimed it had been sold for $80,000, then requested an additional $70,000 to complete the Spintex purchase.
ASP Frimpong said the nurse sent the top-up, bringing the total paid to $150,000, and Amporful later claimed she had secured the Spintex house through Michael Kojo Opata, a manager at the estate.
The court heard that when Ayittey travelled to Ghana in December 2024, she asked to see the property and requested receipts and keys, but Amporful allegedly refused and offered excuses. The nurse then reported the matter to the police.
The prosecution said investigations found that no house was bought in either location. Police checks with Peace Eyira Dokeh, caretaker of the Cape Coast property, allegedly confirmed Amporful never purchased that house. Further verification with the manager and director of Western View Villa Estate, prosecutors said, showed no payment was made for the Spintex property.
ASP Frimpong added that Amporful could not produce receipts or documents showing she negotiated or paid for any property on Ayittey’s behalf after receiving the $150,000.