How businesswoman was conned of Sh140,000 in fake weight loss operation
Details have emerged of how a 32-year-old businesswoman who was desperate to lose weight, was conned of Sh140,000 by a friend who colluded with two other suspects.
Ms Judith Mawia Munyoki, a businesswoman in Tassia estate, Embakasi, Nairobi is now seeking legal redress to recover the money she lost to suspected fraudsters, including one who claimed to be a medical doctor.
The main suspect, Ms Susan Francis, who is Ms Munyoki’s friend, has been charged alongside Mwangi Waweru, the purported medical doctor.
The two are also facing charges of obtaining the money by false pretenses on diverse dates between August 18-24, contrary to section 313 of the Penal Code.
They are accused of conning the complainant of the money while pretending they would offer her a self-administering injection – GLP-1 Liraglutide (saxender) for weight and tummy loss, knowing the same was false.
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Ms Munyoki had shared her weight loss plans with Ms Francis who offered to introduce her to a medical doctor who would help her. Ms Francis allegedly asked the complainant to avail the funds before the medical procedure was scheduled.
Ms Munyoki sent the money in three installments of different amounts within six days and Ms Francis told her to proceed to the town centre where they met.
The complainant was then taken to a guesthouse in Rongai, Kajiado County, where she found two men, including Waweru, who allegedly introduced himself as a doctor, the specialist who was to conduct the procedure.
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Ms Munyoki was told to lie on a bed but asked why the treatment procedure was being carried out in a lodging and she was told that rooms in the hospital are full and the procedure requires a lot of privacy.
She lay on the bed where her tummy was cleaned with methylated spirit and massaged. Then the three left, claiming the purported doctor had gone to collect the saxender for the operation.
Ms Munyoki waited for more than three hours, before she realized the suspects had left the premises. She returned to Nairobi and reported the matter at Embakasi Police Station leading to the arrest of the two suspects.
The accused persons denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Hellen Okwany of the Makadara Law Courts.
Through their lawyer, Viola Chepkorir, they claimed they were mere hawkers in Embakasi and pleaded for lenient bail and bond terms .
The two were granted cash bail of Sh70,000 each with the case set to be mentioned on November 16, 2023 before the hearing starts on March 27, 2024.
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