A 30-year-old man, Henry Hoyle, accused of embezzling GHC292,534 from his employer, has been remanded into police custody by an Accra Circuit Court. Hoyle admitted to the theft, citing the need to care for his ailing mother as his motive.
Although he pleaded guilty, Hoyle’s lawyer informed the court that he had already returned some of the stolen money.
The court, presided over by Isaac Oheneba Kuffour, convicted Hoyle based on his plea but deferred sentencing until the refunded amount is reconciled. The case has been adjourned to February 14, 2024.
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Evans Kesse, the complainant, head of the Human Resource Department of an undisclosed company involved in online sales, reported that Hoyle, a former finance associate, had stolen company funds.
The theft involved transferring money to Hoyle’s personal mobile money numbers, which he used for personal expenses. The company discovered the embezzlement during a random internal financial check in May 2021.
When confronted, Hoyle admitted to the theft and explained that he used the money to address his mother’s medical needs. In an attempt to conceal his actions, Hoyle disabled the MTN Mobile Money Number service from his contacts.
However, the court obtained the mobile money statement, revealing fraudulent activities where Hoyle used his personal mobile money numbers as fictitious customers to be reimbursed.
Investigations disclosed that from December 27, 2018, to May 12, 2021, Hoyle dishonestly appropriated a total of GHC292,534.00 by transferring GHC175,642 and GHC116,892.00 into his personal numbers for personal use.
The accused further dispersed the embezzled funds by transferring money to other accounts, leading to his arrest and subsequent prosecution.