Kenyan-born “billionaire” entrepreneur Julius Mwale known for his ambitious investments in healthcare and technology, is currently battling one of the worst scandals of his career.
Once known for self-promoting his role as the founder of the ambitious $2 billion Mwale Medical and Technology City (MMTC) project, which aimed to establish a sustainable metropolis in Butere, Kakamega County, Mwale now confronts serious allegations of fraud that have tarnished his public image and raised considerable doubts about the future of his ventures.
His grand claims of being a billionaire investor are slowly being washed off by a reality that paints a different picture casting him as a fraud whose elaborate self-promotion has finally caught up with him.
Could this be the beginning of the end?
Recent allegations have thrust Julius Mwale into a scandal that could redefine his legacy.
Accused of defrauding American citizens Mathew Shaw and Brooke Shaw of approximately $1.7 million (about Ksh 222 million) Mwale’s purported scheme involved endless lies about wealth, connections with influential figures and fictitious investment opportunities.
He even notably leveraged the name of U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman by weaving a narrative that has unfolded as a cautionary tale about misplaced trust and the allure of wealth.
The story begins on February 18, 2022, at a private dinner hosted by Gordon Bowen in Holladay, Utah, where the Shaws were introduced to Mwale and his wife, Kaila.
The Mwales presented themselves as affluent individuals with an extensive network, claiming their wealth spanned generations.
They touted a huge wine collection worth approximately $250 million and a jewellery collection valued at $870 million, alongside ambitious projects, including a battery manufacturing plant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a 5,000-bed hospital in Butere, Kenya.
Establishing Credibility
To reinforce the fabricated image, Julius Mwale began sending Mat messages purportedly including private video calls and emails with influential figures like Senator Mitt Romney, Ruth Porat (CFO of Google) and David Beasley (President of the UN World Food Program).
The Mwales even shared videos claiming to show their children on their private jet, which was later revealed to be leased from a third party.
During visits to their supposed estate in San Jose, California, the Shaws were shown luxury cars and other extravagant features to reinforce the Mwales facade of wealth and success.
As the relationship progressed, Mwale pivoted to presenting enticing investment opportunities.
By March 2022, he urged the Shaws to invest in his ventures, particularly in the battery manufacturing plant.
During a meeting on March 18, 2022, at the San Jose estate, the Mwales laid out their ambitious plans, claiming several African countries had granted him land for energy-efficient cities, which would eventually require the Shaws’ financial backing.
In a later meeting on May 20, 2022, Mwale reiterated these claims, stressing that the funds would facilitate geological surveys in the DRC to support infrastructure development.
He introduced the Shaws to one Christine Allyn, supposedly his chief of staff and a former assistant to Kofi Annan to help add credibility to his narrative.
Mwale claimed he had been gifted 12 undeveloped cobalt mines across Africa to create infrastructure for his ventures and touted partnerships with individuals like Derek Williams whom he described as a rocket scientist from Boeing.
The Allure of Generational Wealth
The Mwales painted an enticing picture of the future, promising that the Shaws’ involvement would lead to the creation of “generational wealth.”
They cited other local farmers who had benefitted from similar projects, further enticing the Shaws with the potential for eyewatering returns.
Claiming that they usually finance such ambitious projects through their own resources, the Mwales presented the Shaws with an opportunity to collectively invest $50 million, stressing the urgency of the situation by stating that the “window was closing,” which pressured them into making quick financial commitments.
To secure funds, Mwale proposed to accept the Shaws’ contributions as a “loan,” assuring them of a 20% annual return.
He assured them that their investment would not be limited to loan repayment but could yield returns up to ten times the initial contribution.
This enticing proposition proved hard for the Shaws to resist.
To reassure them, the Mwales claimed they could return the investment at any time, even suggesting they might sell bottles from their extravagant wine collection if necessary.
They insisted that the funds would be managed by Mwale’s parent company, Tumaz and Tumaz, which he claimed was valued at $60 billion.
The Financial Drain
Swayed by Mwale’s charismatic pitch, the Shaws began investing in his projects.
Their first contribution occurred on April 4, 2022, and by June 22, 2022, they had handed over a total of $1.7 million but the reality of their investments soon began to unravel as the Shaws uncovered the truth behind Mwale’s claims.
As the Shaws sought clarity on their investments, it became clear that the promises of wealth were merely a facade.
The connections with influential figures were fabricated and the properties and vehicles were misrepresented.
The promised investment opportunities turned out to be elaborate schemes designed to exploit their trust and generosity.
Left with the sobering realization that they had been scammed, the Shaws found themselves grappling with a profound financial void.
Once the initial shock subsided, they began to confront the reality of their situation, acknowledging the losses they had incurred.
This realization spurred them to dig deeper into Julius Mwale’s background, prompting them to seek out investigative reports they had previously overlooked.
They soon discovered that much of the negative information about him had been deliberately suppressed online, likely due to his investment in web services designed to promote flattering content while burying any evidence of his dubious dealings.
As the couple delved further into their research, they unearthed a troubling history of scams perpetrated by Mwale.
Numerous accounts detailed how he had defrauded other unsuspecting victims and created a pattern of deceit that revealed a man adept at manipulating trust.
They learned of his past ventures, where he had promised extravagant returns on investments that never materialized, and how he has swindled businesses alike through elaborate schemes that showcased his false wealth and influence.
Each new piece of information painted a more complete picture of Mwale as a con artist who thrives on the aspirations and vulnerabilities of others while leaving a trail of devastation in his wake.
But who can blame them?
In today’s digital age, social media serves as a powerful tool for shaping public perception, and Mwale expertly wields this weapon to craft an image of success and affluence.
His social media pages are adorned with glamorous photos that showcased lavish events, luxurious vacations and exclusive gatherings with influential personalities, including African presidents and renowned celebrities.
This carefully curated content projected an aura of legitimacy and prestige, making it easy for the Shaws—and many others—to be drawn into his web of deception.
Every post reinforces the illusion of a prosperous businessman at the pinnacle of his career.
The Shaws, like countless others, were susceptible to the allure of this carefully constructed narrative, often believing that the visuals reflected reality rather than a manufactured persona.
As the Shaws took steps to reclaim their lost funds, they filed a lawsuit against the Mwales in New York.
The case revealed the extent of Mwale’s deception, with detailed accounts of the meetings, promises and the extravagant lifestyle he portrayed.
The court documents outlined Mwale’s systematic approach to defrauding the Shaws, illustrating how he preyed on their aspirations for wealth and influence.
The legal proceedings further exposed Mwale’s misrepresentation of assets and connections.
In a number of interviews he has given, including that with Forbes, Mwale said that upon first arriving in New York he lived in a shelter for the homeless.
He has also claimed to have gained a diploma from Columbia University.
Contacted, a spokesperson for the university said: “We can confirm that Julius Mwale attended Columbia University in 2004, but did not receive a degree from Columbia”.
While he has claimed that his company, SBA Technologies Inc., became a “multi-billion-dollar company” it was never listed on a stock exchange.
In 2010 the company was dissolved, before it was revived two years later.
In the mid-2000s, Mwale applied for patents for his secure transaction system in several countries, including the US, Canada and India.
None of these applications succeeded. Delivering its opinion on the application, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in a document dated July 9th 2007, found that the technology employed “lacks an inventive step” and contained “obvious” modifications to existing technologies.
In 2009, Jacob’s First LLC, the owner of the building housing the headquarters of SBA Technologies, on New York’s upmarket Fifth Avenue, filed a complaint against the company, and Mwale as guarantor, for unpaid rent, amounting to close to 145,000 dollars.
In 2011, Mwale was ordered to settle the unpaid rent but four years later, the owners of the building had still not been paid and filed a fresh complaint.
The sum owed by 2015, both in unpaid rent and interest charges, totalled 209,228.37 dollars.
In July 2010, Dianne Schwartz and Marilyn White, co-directors of an outpatient unit treating people with addictions, filed a complaint before the Supreme Court of the State of New York, claiming they had been deceived into investing 266,000 dollars (133,000 dollars each) in the capital of SBA Technologies.
They said that they had been told their investment would increase in value more than 30-fold – at 8.8 million dollars – in the event of the company being listed on the stock exchange.
Their complaint was against SBA Technologies, Julius Mwale and a psychiatrist called Fiona Graham who they said had introduced them to Mwale. Graham had worked at their addiction treatment centre. In 2012, Mwale was ordered to refund the total sum of their investment, plus 58,000 dollars in interest.
A separate and earlier case involved New York lawyer Stanley S. Zinner, who gave Mwale a loan of more than 150,000 dollars, a deal in which Fiona Graham appears again to have been the intermediary.
When the loan was not repaid, Zinner filed a legal complaint against Mwale and the latter was ordered by the Supreme Court of the State of New York to refund the lawyer.
When Mwale failed to do so, Zinner took action against Graham, who is co-director of a foundation created by Mwale and his wife Kaila called the American Institute for African Development. Graham did not respond to questions sent to her, while Zinner could not be reached.
It was following his legal problems in the US that Mwale turned his attention to Kenya, in 2015, where he set up a company, Tumaz and Tumaz Enterprises Limited, for his project to build a “smart city” in Kakamega county, situated around 400 kilometres north-west of the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
As Julius Mwale continues to steer across these murky waters, the ramifications of his actions resonate beyond his personal plight and cast a shadow over the aspirations of genuine investors in Kenya’s burgeoning entrepreneurial scene.
While Mwale may have succeeded in deceiving the Shaws for a time, the truth is now exposing the cracks in his carefully constructed facade.
As investigations continue and the legal proceedings unfold, it remains to be seen how the consequences of this deception will ripple through the lives of those involved and the broader community.
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