Two employees of Goshens Real Estate are set to face charges for orchestrating a fraud scheme that siphoned over $15 million from their employer for over 18 months.

The two, Judy Muringe Mugo (41) and Catherine Waithera Ruiru (26), a marketing officer and receptionist at the Ruaka-based firm in Kiambu County, reportedly asked tenants to make payments through an unauthorized channel.

By persuading tenants to pay rent directly to a mobile money account, the two effectively bypassed the company’s financial controls.

“After receiving the hundreds of thousands in rent, water bills, and other payable services through the office line, the 41-year-old would then transfer the money to her two personal phone numbers, thereafter transacting through mobile banking to her two accounts held at Family Bank,” DCI stated on Wednesday.

The investigation, initiated following a report from the company’s director on January 23, revealed that Mugo had falsely declared the company’s official pay bill channel and bank account out of use.

She then, in collusion with Ruiru, manipulated the company’s records to conceal the fraud, with Ruiru altering the data to show no outstanding tenant dues.

“For doing this, the 26-year-old partner in crime would receive from Judy her unfair share of the stolen amount,” DCI noted.

Fabricated receipts

The inquiry revealed a trail of illicit transactions leading to the marketing officer’s accounts and significant purchases, including a luxury vehicle.

The probe uncovered a transaction where Mugo, on a modest salary of Sh30,000, purchased a Toyota Harrier, later transferring ownership to evade detection.

“To defeat justice, Judy (who was released on bail pending completion of investigations) thereafter transferred the vehicle,” the investigating agency said.