The National Lottery Authority(NLA), in a joint operation with the Volta Regional Police Command, has successfully apprehended four persons for defrauding lotto-staking residents of Akatsi and Ho in the Volta Region.
The four arrested lotto fraudsters are Godwin Agbenyefia-alias Demon, aged 19; Reuben Abusah-aka Last Burial, aged 20; Kelvin Kwame Abouzi-alias Kartel, aged 20; and Kingsley Adelekey, aged 21 – all residing within the Volta Region.
According to NLA, the four arrested lotto fraudsters have created several Facebook accounts, Whatsapp and other social media platforms using the logo and pictures of staff at the National Lottery Authority(NLA), and sometimes pictures of other influential persons to defraud the unsuspecting public.
The presiding judge of Ho Circuit Court, His Honour Felix Datsomor, has remanded the suspects in police custody to reappear on Wednesday 23rd September 2020.
Head of Public Relations Unit-NLA, Razak Kojo Opoku, narrated in a statement that it is very sad that these lotto fraudsters are able to convince people who want to be rich overnight to make mobile money transfers to them in exchange for fake winning lotto numbers.
“The lotto fraudsters received various sums of money from their victims in order to stake lotto numbers for them. After the Draw of lotto numbers by the National Lottery Authority(NLA), the Lotto fraudsters send photographs of fake winning coupons (Prize) to their victims suggesting that they have won lotto.
“The lotto fraudsters then demand 20-40 percent of the amount of money they claim the victims have won – telling them if they do not pay the money NLA will not pay their winning tickets,” he said.
Subsequently, after victims pay the lotto fraudsters with a percentage of the fake winning prize the fraudsters then quickly block the phone calls of their victims and disappear without any trace.
In addition, he notified that the fraudsters sometimes manage to convince their victims to send mobile money for registration to qualify for leaked winning numbers in the days’ draw that are yet to be announced by NLA.
“The National Lottery Authority(NLA) would like to state categorically that NLA has not designed any registration forms for the public to register for winning lotto numbers,” Mr. Kojo Opoku emphasised.
The public is therefore reminded that outcomes of lotto draws are conducted in an open and transparent manner, and the draw is open to the general public for witnessing daily, except Sundays and public holidays.
Lotto is a game of chance and it is impossible to foretell winning numbers before draws. Hence, it is absolutely false that people and staff of the Authority have access to winning lotto numbers, the NLA reiterated in its statement.
It is the responsibility of the public to be more vigilant and discontinue engaging the services of lotto fraudsters.
The NLA also commended the Volta Regional Police Command for a successful operation, indicating that the Authority will continue to collaborate with the police and other relevant security agencies to arrest lotto fraudsters across the country.
