An Accra Circuit Court has remanded into police custody a 30-year-old man accused of stealing GHC292,534 belonging to his employer. Henry Hoyle is said to have told the Police that he stole the money to take care of his ailing mother.
Charged with stealing, Hoyle has pleaded guilty. His lawyer, however, informed the court that the accused person had refunded some of the money.
The court presided over by Isaac Oheneba Kuffour convicted Hoyle on his own plea but deferred sentence, pending the reconciliation of the money the accused person has refunded.
The matter has been adjourned to February 14, 2024. The case as narrated by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Evans Kesse, is that the complainant is the head of Human Resource Department of company name withheld, which is into online sale of e-electronic gadgets, clothes, among others.
The prosecution said Hoyle is a former employee.
Prosecution said on May 1, 2018, the accused person was employed by the company as a finance associate who was responsible for receiving and recording cash transactions, preparing cash received reports, cross checking and validating and clearing various “run-sheets deliveries.
According to the prosecution, the accused person also handles customer service refunds, among others.
The prosecutor said in May 2021, the company conducted a random internal financial check and realized that the accused person had been stealing funds belonging to the company.
It said the accused person transferred the stolen money to his personal two mobile money numbers for his personal use.
The prosecution said when Hoyle was confronted with the findings, he admitted “siphoning funds” from the company’s mobile money account.
The court heard that the accused was therefore arrested and handed over to the Police.
During interrogation, the prosecutor said Hoyle admitted the offence and mentioned that he used the money to “cure his sick mother.”
The prosecution said in Hoyle’s attempt to conceal evidence of his “gargantuan thievery”, he disabled the MTN Mobile Money Number service from his contacts.
The prosecutor said luck eluded him when the mobile money statement was obtained by the court’s order.
Investigations revealed that the accused person fraudulently used his personal mobile money numbers as “customers who are to be reimbursed.”
Hoyle also transferred the money from his employer’s company’s mobile money account to E-Cart Services then into his personal accounts.
The prosecutor said investigations finally revealed that from December 27, 2018, to May 12, 2021, the accused person succeeded in dishonestly appropriating a total number of GHC292,534.00 by transferring GHC 175,642 and GHC116,892.00 into his personal number for his personal use.
“Accused dissipated the booty by transferring the money into other accounts, “Prosecution added.
By Joyce Danso
Accra, Feb. 13, GNA
