Businessman Ibrahim Thoronka Sentenced in Fraudulent Conversion Case

Businessman Ibrahim Thoronka has been sentenced to four years in prison or a fine of Fifty Million Leones after pleading guilty to an indictment involving the alleged fraudulent conversion of vehicle tires.

Justice Abu Bakarr Binneh Kamara imposed the sentence at the High Court in Freetown. The judge said the punishment should run from the day Thoronka was remanded.

Case followed Magistrate Court proceedings

Thoronka was arraigned at the High Court on a committal warrant dated 31 March 2017. The warrant followed the conclusion of a Preliminary Investigation hearing at the Magistrate Court.

State Prosecutor Daisy Sawyer produced the warrant and tendered it as a court exhibit.

The indictment alleged that vehicle tires belonging to Gloria Tucker, which had been entrusted to Thoronka for sale, were fraudulently converted. Sawyer told the court that the tires were contained in a 20-foot container and put their value at Fifty Million, Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Leones.

The particulars of the indictment separately stated the value of the tires as Fifty Million Leones.

Defence submissions

Thoronka pleaded guilty to the criminal indictment. Defence counsel M.W. Jalloh told the court that Thoronka is a Sierra Leonean and a businessman.

Jalloh also submitted that his client had not wasted the court’s time because he admitted the charge. The defence further told the court that Thoronka had spent more than two years on remand and had paid Tucker Twenty Seven Million Leones as part payment.

Sawyer stated that the offence carried a maximum prison term of seven years. In imposing the sentence, Justice Kamara considered the seriousness of the offence and the facts placed before the court.