This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A no-bail warrant has been issued for a former Olympic runner and BYU alumnus after he failed to appear in court last month in connection with allegedly defrauding investors out of nearly $300,000.
But Kenneth Ekow Andam's defense attorney claims Andam did not intentionally miss the hearing. Andam has been unable to immediately leave his native country of Ghana, where he is being treated there for malaria, the attorney wrote in a motion asking the warrant to be recalled.
Andam, 40, whose current address is listed in court records as Highland in Utah County, was charged last July in Provo's 4th District Court with felony counts of securities fraud, money laundering and being an unlicensed broker while effecting securities transactions.
The warrant was issued Jan. 5, by Judge Fred Howard after Andam — a Brigham Young University track star who represented Ghana in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and competed with the nation's 4X100 relay team — failed to appear for a scheduling hearing.
But Andam's attorney, Aaron Dodd, filed a motion explaining that Andam is in Ghana being treated for malaria and needs time to recover and make plans to return to the United States.
The motion includes a letter from a doctor at a Ghana health clinic who writes that Andam, who was in the country for the holidays, has been receiving treatment at the clinic since Jan. 5. The doctor recommended Andam needed four weeks to fully recuperate.
As of Monday, the arrest warrant remained in effect, according to the court docket.
According to charging documents, the unnamed alleged victims in July 2011 invested their life savings of about $325,000 in a company called Globa, which Andam said was a holding company and mobile money transfer platform for Barclays Bank in London.
Among other things, Andam promised the alleged victims that their investment would provide returns of 12 percent every six months, and that the money would always be immediately available to them, charges state.
But three months after making the investment, the alleged victims were unable to access the account to get cash to help out a family member, charges state. They eventually received $30,000 from Andam, which is the only money they have gotten back, charges state.
Bank records show that the alleged victim's money was moved through multiple transfers to accounts owned by Andam, charges state.