NAIROBI, Kenya, May 30 – Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) working with immigration officers have arrested a suspect believed to have fraudulently obtained close to Sh50 million by duping Kenyans in a well orchestrated Ponzi scheme.
The detectives identified the suspect as Stacey Marie Parker and was apprehended on Friday at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
The 50 year-old had flew in from the United States.
Detectives probing the case said that Parker, is part of a global syndicate that designed and launched an online based application, Amazon Web Worker, that duped its users into making hefty deposits in the guise of an investment with hopes of reaping big rewards.
Subscribers had been further duped into believing that the service was a subsidiary of the global US based technology company, Amazon.
Concerned by their financial security in the middle of a global pandemic that is characterized by massive job losses and driven by the fear of being left destitute,many flocked to the site, willingly depositing thousands of shillings.
Like the mythical tale of Icarus however, Kenyans had realized that they flew too close to the sun too late, as they came crashing down having lost their money.
“Kenyans had been duped that they would earn huge profits of up to 38 percent for a deposit lasting 7 days. In one such advertisement, investors who deposited Sh100,000 were promised Sh351,000 after 30 days,” the DCI said in a statement.
According to investigators, more than Sh100 million was deposited on the site through a paybill number provided by the schemers.
Private information including the subscribers’ names, identification number and phone number were captured during the exercise. The sleuths said this is, “very dangerous as sensitive information may be used to serve other purposes.”
As the wave spread across the country and subscribers started asking questions on when they would make their profits and money deposited into the accounts, the application and site became unreachable after they were shortly deleted without a trace.
“Detectives managed to link Stacey to the syndicate, after painstaking investigations revealed that she had pay-bill accounts in her name, that had a balance of Sh50 Million, believed to be deposits made by the unsuspecting victims,” detectives said.
The suspect is expected to be presented in court where she will be charged with money laundering, computer fraud and obtaining money by false pretenses.
The DCI are meanwhile pursuing other suspects believed to be part of the Amazon Web Worker ponzi scheme.
Earlier this year, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK ) Governor Patrick Njoroge warned Kenyans not to easily share their private banking information and to report any suspicious activities as criminals had devised ways of stealing from them particularly through online platforms.
Recently, a senior prison officer was arrested for hoodwinking tens of victims that she would secure job opportunities for them at a fee.
In a period of 10 months, the officer who is in police custody made more than Sh10 million of desperate job seekers.
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