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A Freetown businessman, Mohamed Santigie Fofanah, has been sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of defrauding his friend of $178,015 in a fake overseas travel scheme.
The 36-year-old was found guilty of obtaining money under false pretenses following a court appearance on January 23, 2025, before Magistrate Sahr Keikura at Pademba Road Magistrate Court No.1.
Fofanah, who was charged with violating Section 32 (1) of the Larceny Act 1916, was accused of deceiving David Samuel Tholley, a friend, into believing that he could secure a Canadian working visa.
Between July 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023, Fofanah received the substantial sum of $178,015 and an additional 716,660 New Leones from Tholley, promising to facilitate the travel arrangements, which he never intended to fulfill.
Upon hearing the charges, Fofanah pleaded guilty to the offense, leading to the withdrawal of witness testimony, as the prosecution had intended to call a witness to testify.
His defense counsel, A. Koroma, Esq., applied for bail, citing the accused’s clean criminal record and promising reliable sureties who would ensure his appearance at future proceedings.
However, the prosecution, led by C. Kamara, Esq., objected to the bail application, noting that Fofanah had previously skipped bail granted by the court. Kamara urged the court to exercise its discretion in favor of the prosecution, referencing Fofanah’s past actions.
In delivering his judgment, Magistrate Keikura sentenced Fofanah to four years in prison, or a fine of four thousand Leones (Le4,000) in lieu of the sentence.
Do we have any legal traveling agency in Sierra Leone please let me know.
So the guy fraud his friends over $178,000 and the court fine him Nle4000 which is equivalent to $150 or face 4yrs jail term.
Man, this sentence is not right.
The whole story makes no sense to me. How was the friend even able to give that huge sum of money to the accused without a second thought?
Why will someone with such amount even think of travelling abroad for a better life?
If he can give Fofanah such an amount, them he must be worth at least 4x that amount.
I have never heard of any travelling agency that charges even 1/10 of that amount.
The friend must be delusional. He also needs to be investigated for spending such an amount on foolishness.
Moreover, did I see NLe 4,000 or 4 years imprisonment? If this is how modern justice works, then I think we need to revisit our ancestry. Even jailing that dude for 50 years is not compared to the amount he defrauded his friend off.