Founder of the Godsway International Church, Patricia Asiedua, popularly known as Nana Agradaa, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labour.
The sentence was handed down by the Circuit Court in Accra after she was found guilty of defrauding by false pretence and engaging in charlatanic advertisement.
The charges stemmed from a money-doubling scam she broadcast in 2022, which led scores of unsuspecting followers to hand over large sums of money at her church.
According to court proceedings, Nana Agradaa, a former traditional priestess turned evangelist, used a televised promotional video to claim she had spiritual powers to double money.
The video drew a crowd of hopeful individuals to her church, Heaven Way Champion Ministries, where they were deceived and left empty-handed.
The scam prompted widespread public outrage and a swift investigation by the police, culminating in her prosecution and conviction.
Ahead of sentencing, the court ordered a pregnancy test, in accordance with legal procedures, which returned negative. Consequently, the judge imposed the full sentence.
Meanwhile, Nana Agradaa faces three additional criminal cases before different circuit courts in Accra, all relating to similar charges.
She is also on trial over a 2020 assault case involving Prophet Akwasi Appiah, also known as Appiah Biblical.