Man jailed for spending ex‑girlfriend’s GH¢114,000 loan on betting

An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced Vincent Apetor to 14 days in prison after he admitted to spending GH¢114,000 obtained by his former girlfriend as a loan on football betting.

Presiding Judge Joseph Y. Kunsong also fined Apetor GH¢3,000, with a default sentence of six months, and ordered him to refund the outstanding GH¢79,000 after serving his term. The unemployed man, who pleaded guilty to fraudulent breach of trust, confessed to police that he lost most of the money through betting.

According to prosecutors, the complainant, a secretary living in Ablekuma, had secured the loan from a relative to support travel arrangements to Holland. She deposited portions of the money into Apetor’s Ecobank account between September 2024 and February 2025, believing it would strengthen their visa application.

Investigators revealed that Apetor secretly obtained an ATM card and withdrew the funds over several months, while hiding a cheque book in their room to avoid suspicion. He later produced a bank statement to support his visa application, but was denied entry due to errors in his paperwork.

The complainant eventually demanded the money back and discovered the account had been drained. Police arrested Apetor in August 2025, recovering GH¢35,000, leaving a balance of GH¢79,000 to be repaid.

Inspector Frank Morgan Dorvi, who led the prosecution, said the case highlighted the risks of financial trust in personal relationships. Despite the relatively short custodial sentence, the court’s order for restitution ensures the complainant will recover part of her losses.

The ruling underscores the judiciary’s growing intolerance for financial misconduct tied to betting, a practice that has become increasingly common among unemployed youth. For Apetor, the brief jail term is only the beginning of a longer obligation to repay what was lost.

Source: myjoyonline.com