A New Zealand national has disclosed to the court how Kenyan scammers used him to fraudulently obtain millions from several victims within the country.
The 44-year-old who appeared before Judge Garry Collin on Friday, February 21, revealed that between 2022 and 2023, he was lured to join a scam group by Kenyans who run fake Facebook profiles to con people.
According to the suspect, while working alongside the Kenyans, they created fake Facebook accounts and listed high-value items for sale on the marketplace, including homes and shipping containers.
They could then request their victims to pay a deposit, but upon receiving the payment, they failed to deliver the goods. The suspect told the court that none of the victims received anything.
His main role was to open bank accounts for the money to be deposited, then send the portion of the proceeds through money transaction services, including WorldRemit and Skrill, to the Kenyans.
Investigations established that the suspect transferred Ksh1.5 million through the Skrill account and Ksh1.4 million through WorldRemit to the Kenyan scammers.
Further investigations revealed that one victim transferred to the scammers Ksh450,000 for a portable cabin listed for sale on an online platform registered in the name of the New Zealand suspect.
Another victim transferred Ksh290,000, which is half of the total value for a 20-foot shipping container to be shipped to New Zealand. The investigators found out that none of the ordered shipments reached their destinations.
One of the victims who appeared before the court told the judge he tried to view the shipping container before the sale, but the scammers only showed him the photos.
Another victim who was also present in court said he felt stupid in the scam because it seemed quite obvious that it was a fraudulent scheme but he decided to trust the suspect as he thought he was an honest person.
“I have zero mercy for the offender, and this has caused financial stress. We want our money back. This was a deliberate act of pure heartlessness, and I do not want an apology," said a victim.
However, despite calls for harsher penalties for the suspect, the defendant's lawyer requested the judge impose a home detention sentence given that the suspect was remorseful and had complied with his electronically monitored bail.
