A woman who allegedly defrauded a businessman of Sh110,000, while falsely pretending she was in a position to supply him with essential oil, has been charged with obtaining money by false pretenses contrary to section 313 of the penal code.
Ms Maureen Maina, 33, is accused of obtaining the cash from Nahashon Nyamweya in Mukuru kwa Reuben slums in Nairobi on July 11, 2023 after colluding with others to make the victim believe that he could make money out of the deal.
Mr Nyamweya met one of Ms Maina’s accomplices in May inside his bar in the area and they became friends.
They met a week later and the suspect, who is still at large, introduced himself to Mr Nyamweya and claimed that he was in the business of buying and selling essential oil jointly with Ms Maina.
The suspected fraudster claimed that he obtains the commodity from Namanga in Kanjiando County before packaging and exporting it.
The suspect requested Mr Nyamweya to store several bottles containing the alleged precious oil for him for a few days as he waited for a client to collect. The complainant agreed to help him.
The two continued their discussions on the matter as Mr Nyamweya had developed an interest in the business. Ms Maina also continued delivering some of the oil at the bar where purported customers collected and paid.
Later, Ms Maina allegedly requested for the Sh110,000 which she intended to make some payments to a certain client. She promised to refund the cash after a short while and Mr Nyamweya sent her the cash via a mobile money transfer.
After receiving the cash that accused went underground and stopped picking Mr Nyamweya’s calls prompting him to report the matter to the police.
Ms Maina was arrested by the police but her accomplices are still at large.
She denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Monica Kivuti of the Makadara Law Courts and was released on a bond of Sh100,000 and an alternative cash bail of Sh50,000.
The case will be mentioned on September 21, 2023 before hearing starts on January 29, 2023.
