A Magistrate Court was on Monday, November 7, told that a man accused of stealing Ksh 400,000 from a local bank thought he had won the lottery.
The suspect told Chief Magistrate Mutemi that when he received the money from the bank, he mistook it for money from one of the local betting companies.
According to court documents, middle-aged man is accused of stealing the money from an account belonging a Kenyan who was working in the United States.
Detectives told the court that when the victim returned home from the United States, he discovered that his account at the bank had insufficient funds.
He reported the incident to the bank and an investigation was immediately launched into the matter.
It was during the investigation that it was discovered that the funds had been withdrawn via a mobile phone number linked to the account he linked in 2019.
Police told the court that during their investigations, they discovered that the number had became inactive after Thuita relocated to the United States in search of greener pastures.
The number was then renewed by the telecommunication company over inactivity, and was consequently given to another Jared Atambo.
According to investigators, the new user who is a prime suspect in the case then fraudulently accessed the said account using the bank's USSD code.
"The accused further claims that he thought he was transacting in his own account" the charge sheet reads.
According to the prosecutor, this is "a fact which was false as he had never operated any account with the bank."
The suspect pleaded not guilty.
