Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives based in Kiambaa will on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, arraign at Kiambu Law Courts a receptionist and a marketing officer who stole over Ksh 15.6 million from their employer.
The two suspects; Judy Muringe Mugo, 41 and Catherine Waithera Ruiru, 26, are respectively the Marketing Officer and Receptionist for Goshens Real Estate based in Kiambu’s Ruaka township.
In a statement, DCI said the two female suspects committed the crime within a period of 18 months classifying it as a classic case of conspiracy and modern-day computer fraud.
In the case, Judy Mugo (1st suspect) was accused of duping Goshens Real Estate tenants into disregarding the paybill and bank account provided on their lease agreement forms while remitting monthly rent.
Instead, she directed the tenants to use the company’s office line which she controlled.
“Being the marketing officer who also acted as liaison with the tenants and charged with the responsibility of issuing receipts to tenants who remitted their bill payments, Judy declared the company paybill and bank account “no longer functional”, before directing those payments be channeled to the OPPO phone and number that the company issued to her for marketing purposes,” the statement read in part.
After receiving the money in rent, water bills and other payable services through the office line, Mugo would then transfer the money to her two personal phone numbers.
Thereafter, the 41-year-old would transact through mobile banking to her two accounts.
How Catherine duped the Company with fake figures
Mugo would then conspire with the receptionist, who manipulated numbers in the company’s system to indicate that no tenants had any arrears.
This was to cover her trail and ensure that the management did not notice any irregularities.
“For doing this, the 26-year-old partner in crime would receive from Judy her unfair share of the stolen amount. This went on from June 2022 to January 2024,” the statement read in part.
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DCI Investigations
The detectives started investigations by recording statements of all the affected tenants then seeking orders from a Kiambu court to investigate the concerned banks and mobile money transactions.
Upon investigations, the detectives confirmed that Mugo would channel the rent received through the office line to her two personal numbers.
Afterwards, she would send the money to her two-bank account numbers.
“In the establishments, she had also transferred Sh3,442,200 to the receptionist through her (Catherine’s) mobile number 0712***840 and also her KCB account number 1250143*** within the period in question,” DCI said.
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Mugo Bought a Car from the Proceeds
Additionally, the detectives established that Mugo, whose monthly salary was Ksh30,000, had on April 14, 2023, channeled Ksh750,000 to AUTOCAD Motors bank account.
AUTOCAD confirmed the payment was for a Toyota Harrier bought from their yard.
Search in the NTSA database confirmed that Mugo was the legitimate owner of the car until January 25, 2024, when Kiambaa detectives summoned her to their offices.
“In an effort to defeat justice, Judy (who was released on bail pending completion of investigations) had thereafter transferred the vehicle to Andronicus Mbuthia Kamakia,” DCI explained.
With these findings, the investigators sought a search warrant for the suspect’s home where the Toyota Harrier was found parked.
The filed miscellaneous application also sought orders to impound and detain the vehicle and treat it as a proceed of crime.
This prevented its sale or use as collateral in obtaining loans from any financial institutions.
The orders executed on March 6, 2024, also saw both suspects’ phones and the desktop used by the receptionist confiscated, and the same have since been submitted to the forensic cybercrime unit for detailed analysis.