Former Black Stars star Prince Tagoe has been condemned by an Accra Circuit Court to pay GH₵10 for every dollar in the vehicle fraud case. There is currently a $19,000 balance after Tagoe has refunded $21,000 (GH₵210,0000) in cedi equivalent.
On the other hand, Tagoe argued throughout the hearing that he would return the money using the 2021 dollar rate.
Tagoe’s plea was denied by the prosecution, which was led by Detective Chief Inspector Agartha Abena Asantewa. Tagoe claimed that the money that the complainant had given him was in US dollars.
The prosecution states that they have fixed the value of a dollar at GH₵10, but that this is not the exchange rate that is currently in effect. George Boateng, the assistant coach for the Black Stars, is accused of being defrauded of $40,000 by Prince Tagoe.
Allegations include that he obtained the funds by pretending to import a Lexus SUV for the Assistant Coach.
Tagoe has been accused of defrauding under false pretenses; nonetheless, he maintains his innocence despite having paid GH¢20,000, GH¢70,000, and GH¢71,000 in installments.
GH¢100,000 bail was granted with three sureties one of whom owned land and the other a civil servant in place.
Tagoe was a player coached by the complaint, Mr. George Antwi Boateng, a former Ghanaian football player now living in Germany.
Boateng told Tagoe that he needed a car in 2020. Tagoe consented to pay Boateng GH¢265,200 (about $40,000) for the import of a car, with the money being deposited on January 8, 2021.
Even with an agreed-upon extension, Tagoe was unable to deliver the promised vehicle by March 30, 2021. Boateng failed in his attempt to pick up the car in Ghana in April 2021, purportedly because Tagoe claimed the money was used for more important things. The lawsuit has been postponed until February 21, 2024.
