Detectives have launched sweeping raids across Nairobi after uncovering what appears to be one of the most intricate international fraud networks operating in Kenya. The group is accused of conning a Texas investor out of nearly Sh500 million in a carefully orchestrated loan financing scam that spanned several months and multiple continents.
A Nairobi court has now given the Directorate of Criminal Investigations full authority to search prime business hubs, private offices and high-end commercial buildings linked to the suspects. The Economic and Commercial Crimes Unit is combing through Flamingo Towers in Upper Hill, Silver Stone Building in Kilimani, Uhuru Highway Mall in Nairobi West and the PWC Building in Westlands. Officers have seized boxes of financial documents and dozens of digital devices that will be subjected to forensic analysis. The goal is to trace the money trail and expose the hierarchy of the syndicate.
The warrants were issued on October 30, 2025 and list more than a dozen individuals who are now persons of interest. They include Nairobi lawyer Stephen Juma Ndeda, Michael Omondi Okongo, David Onyango Ochanda, Luke Onyango, Abdifatah Adan Kalicha, Abel Onyango Noah, Abdullahi Bare, Joseph Verde, Oloo Collins Juma, Kenedy Oyoo Mboya, Susan Kilonzo Wambua, Stephen Roy Onyango, Judith Akinyi Riaga and Collins Juma Aloo. Several companies are also implicated. These include Toureg Insurance Agency, Albeirut Wael Enterprises, Urufle Trading Company Limited, Fatimark Energy Limited and Affluent Wealth Managers.
At the centre of the case is American businessman Charles Blake Stringer. He is the head of Nutra Acres LLC in Texas and had been seeking financing for agricultural projects across Africa. In mid 2024 he was introduced to what he believed was the Kenyan branch of a reputable wealth management firm that promised to arrange a Sh500 million credit facility for his expansion plans.
Stringer flew to Nairobi for negotiations. He signed initial agreements after being assured that the loan would be processed quickly. He was then informed that the lender required him to take out a life insurance cover. This requirement led him to Toureg Insurance Agency and a man claiming to be its chief executive. The man convinced Stringer that the cover would be issued by a Swedish insurer known as Continental Insurance. Investigators later discovered that the company does not exist.
Over several months Stringer wired more than Sh103 million to accounts linked to the suspects. The money was labelled as insurance premiums, processing fees and administrative charges. Bank records show the funds moving rapidly through shell companies such as Urufle Trading and Fatimark Energy before being withdrawn in cash. Stringer also paid more than Sh7 million to Ndeda and Company Advocates and nearly Sh650,000 for the registration of a fake subsidiary called Nutra Acres Africa Limited.
By early 2025 it became clear that the promised financing would never come. Stringer reported the matter to the DCI and triggered an intensive undercover investigation that has now exposed what appears to be a well coordinated network operating across multiple fronts. Detectives say the suspects used forged documents, fake online profiles and impersonation to pose as investment brokers and insurance agents.
Investigating officer Corporal Brian Musau says the seized materials will be central to proving charges that include obtaining money by false pretences, engaging in organized crime, money laundering and running an unlicensed financial operation. The charges fall under the Penal Code, the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, the Prevention of Organised Crimes Act and the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act.
Toureg Insurance had already been under the radar. Its website was seized earlier this year during investigations into an unrelated gold fraud case that cost another American investor more than Sh30 million. One of the suspects in the current case, David Onyango Ochanda, had been arrested in that earlier sting. Investigators believe the same operatives are recycling old tactics to target new victims.
Affluent Wealth Managers, once a legitimate financial advisory firm established in the late 1990s, appears to have had its identity hijacked and repurposed in this scheme. Fake agents used the company name to lure Stringer into transferring money for what they described as mandatory preliminary costs.
The crackdown has already led to arrests. Lawyer Stephen Ndeda was arraigned at the Kahawa Law Courts on November 28, 2025. He pleaded not guilty to charges that include conspiracy to defraud and laundering proceeds of crime. Detectives say additional suspects are still being tracked and more arrests are expected.
The case has raised fresh concerns about the safety of foreign investors in Kenya. Authorities in the United States have also issued warnings after a separate Kenyan was indicted in September in connection with a multimillion dollar laundering scheme. Interpol recently announced the arrest of dozens of suspects across Africa in terrorism related financial operations. Kenya featured prominently in those investigations.
Experts advise investors to verify any financial intermediaries through the Capital Markets Authority, the Central Bank or the Insurance Regulatory Authority. They warn that scammers are now using highly convincing digital fronts and cloned business identities to prey on foreigners seeking opportunities in Africa.
For Stringer, the case is a painful reminder of how quickly ambition can turn into disaster in unfamiliar markets. For Kenya, it is another urgent call to strengthen oversight and crack down on the fraud cartels that are slowly eroding investor confidence. Detectives believe more revelations will emerge once they analyse the seized devices and documents.
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