Nairobi – The fall of politician Robert Riaga alias Money Bior was swift and spectacular. Just days after suffering a humiliating defeat in the Kasipul by-election, where he failed to even secure third place, the man who had styled himself as a rising force in local politics is now facing a far more devastating battle.
His flamboyant lifestyle had already stirred whispers during the high-stakes race triggered by the cold-blooded killing of Charles Ongondo Were. But what awaited him outside the political arena was far darker.
As Riaga retreated to lick his wounds, detectives were closing in.
A Nairobi court had just handed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations a powerful instrument that could unravel what prosecutors believe is one of the most elaborate transnational fraud schemes in recent years.
A Court-Ordered Storm
Inside the Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court, the walls heard the beginning of a digital manhunt.
The court granted DCI officers from the Economic and Commercial Crimes Unit permission to mount an aggressive, multi-location sweep targeting Riaga, controversial city lawyer Stephen Juma Ndenda, and 18 others accused of orchestrating a Sh500 million scam.
The warrant was unprecedented in its scope. Detectives were authorised to storm a web of high-end Nairobi offices tied to the suspects, including Flamingo Towers in Upper Hill, the Silver Stone Building in Kilimani, the Uburn Highway Mall in Nairobi West, and the PWC Building in Westlands.
The directive allowed officers to seize servers, computers, phones, documents, and storage devices for forensic examination—evidence investigators say could expose a sophisticated network built to siphon money from unsuspecting investors.
The Texan Who Took the Bait
At the centre of the case is American businessman Charles Blake Stringer, the director of the Texas-based Nutra-Acres LLC. On February 14, 2023, Stringer began conversations he believed would help him expand his agricultural footprint in Africa. Instead, he walked straight into an operation prosecutors describe as meticulously staged and ruthlessly executed.
Stringer’s path crossed with a Kenyan outfit calling itself Affluent Wealth Management, which eagerly entertained his vision of financing large-scale farming projects.
What began as routine financing talks evolved into marathon Zoom meetings across 2023 and 2024, introducing Stringer to men he would later accuse of orchestrating the fraud: individuals trading under names like ‘Robe Money’ Bior, Abel Oyango, Michael Okongo, and Joseph Verde.
They dangled a Sh500 million loan, but with one condition: Stringer needed a life insurance policy before the funds could be released.
The Insurance Illusion
That condition led him to Collins Juma, introduced as CEO of Toureg Insurance Agency. Juma, investigators say, fronted a forged identity representing a Swedish insurer called “Continental Insurance.” He issued official-looking proposals and invoices, reinforcing the illusion of legitimacy. With every document he received, Stringer believed he was navigating a standard international loan procedure.
What followed was a series of payments that, in hindsight, tracked the anatomy of a con. Between June 2024 and January 2025, Stringer wired USD 762,275 to accounts linked to the suspects and their companies.
He also paid USD 56,400 to Ndeda & Company Advocates in legal fees and another USD 5,000 to Abel Oyango, purportedly for registering Nutra Acres Africa Ltd.
No insurance policy was ever issued. No loan was ever processed. And no farming project ever materialised. The Texan finally realised he had been swindled and reported the matter to Kenyan authorities, triggering the investigation now gripping Nairobi courtrooms.
A Cast Almost Designed for Crime Fiction
Court filings reveal a sprawling cast of alleged conspirators: alongside Riaga and lawyer Ndenda are names like Michael Omondi Okongo, David Onyango Ochanda, Luke Oyango, Abdifarah Adam Kalicha, Abdullahi Bare, Abel Onyango Noah, Judith Akinyi Riaga, Remedy Oyoo Mboya, Susan Kilonzo Wambao, Stephen Roy Oyango, Joseph Verde, and three men all named Collins Juma.
The corporate trail is just as tangled. Investigators believe companies such as Toureg Insurance Agency, Albeirut Weal Enterprises, Urufle Trading Company Ltd, Fairmark Energy Ltd, and Affluent Wealth Managers were used as conduits to funnel and launder the stolen money.
DCI Corporal Brian Musau, in his sworn affidavit, argued that these offices were likely hosting vital digital footprints—emails, logs, transaction records, chat histories—needed to stitch together the full scale of the alleged conspiracy.
Lawyer Ndenda Faces the Music
While many of the suspects remain under active investigation, lawyer Stephen Juma Ndenda is already in deep legal trouble.
He has appeared before the Kahawa Law Courts to answer to five charges: conspiracy to defraud, obtaining money by false pretence, engaging in organized crime, money laundering, and acquisition of proceeds of crime. Prosecutors say his law firm played a central role, providing legal legitimacy that helped soothe the Texan’s doubts at critical stages of the fraud.
The Hunt Intensifies
With the court’s blessing, detectives are now combing through mountains of seized digital material. Every gadget, from laptops to mobile phones, is undergoing forensic scrutiny.
The DCI is investigating suspected computer fraud, money laundering, and coordinated deception executed through companies and professional offices that, on the surface, appeared respectable.
For Riaga, the former Kasipul aspirant, the sting of political defeat has now been overshadowed by allegations with far higher stakes.
What began as a simple election loss has morphed into a legal quagmire tied to half a billion shillings, an international victim, and what investigators describe as an organised ring of fraudsters hiding in plain sight.
The case now moves into its next phase, with detectives piecing together what they believe could be one of the most ambitious scams ever reported to Kenyan authorities.
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