ACCRA, Ghana — A Circuit Court in Accra has sentenced former fetish priestess turned preacher Patricia Asiedu, popularly known as Nana Agradaa, to 15 years in prison for defrauding the public through a fraudulent religious money-doubling scheme.
The court found that Agradaa used her television platforms to advertise a so-called spiritual practice known as “sika gari,” claiming she had the power to double money for anyone who brought her cash. Victims were asked to pay consultation fees and hand over large sums with the promise of receiving doubled amounts—money they never got.
Her fraudulent activities gained public attention after multiple complaints were filed. Police arrested her in 2021 for operating Thunder TV and Ice TV without a license, where she aired the deceptive advertisements. At that time, she was released on GHC 500,000 bail pending trial.
After four years of court proceedings, Her Honour Evelyn Asamoah ruled that Agradaa was guilty of seven charges, including:
Defrauding by false pretenses (Section 131(1), Act 29)
Charlatanic advertisement (Section 137(1), Act 29)
According to court records, over 1,000 individuals were victims of the scam, many of whom had attended a watch night service at her church, where they were encouraged to give various sums of money to be “doubled.” The promised returns never materialized.
Before sentencing, the judge ordered a pregnancy test, which came back negative. Agradaa was then officially sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
Legal experts and observers have called the sentence a significant step in combating the rise of spiritual and religious scams across TV and social media in Ghana.
After the verdict, Agradaa’s lawyer Richard Asare Baffour criticized the ruling, calling it a “travesty of justice,” and claimed she was convicted because of her identity, not the evidence.
Despite the sentence, Agradaa asked her church members to continue praying for her as she was escorted to prison.
Following her 2021 arrest, Agradaa publicly claimed she had repented, abandoned her life as a fetish priestess, and accepted Christianity. She allowed prominent pastors to burn her so-called idols and launched her own ministry—Heaven Way International Church—in 2022, which she ran with her husband.
She frequently preached prosperity messages and built a loyal following both in person and on social media.
She also faces an unresolved defamation lawsuit filed by gospel musician Empress Gifty Osei, which is still pending in the Tema Court.
Just days before her sentencing, on July 1, 2025, Nana Agradaa and her husband were invited to Ghana’s National Prayer and Thanksgiving Day, where she hugged President John Mahama and said:
“I have hugged the president now. Even if I never make it to heaven, I feel fulfilled.”
