Sunday, December 8, 2024 - Detectives drawn from the
Operations Support Unit have arrested Steve Okoth Odek alias David Bett, for
scamming a foreign national a staggering USD 256,000 in a fake gold deal that
involved over 500kg of fake gold.
Investigations
have revealed that the victim entered into two separate gold purchase
agreements with the scammer where on February 6th, 2024 he was to purchase
500kg of gold and on March 14th, 2024 another 580kg with each kilogram priced
at USD 40,000.
Additionally,
the detectives have established that the second contract was signed after the
first deal failed where the scammer promised to deliver the gold only after
securing certain conditions, including the buyer's responsibility for jet
chartering, payment of taxes, and insurance.
Despite
these terms, the scammer once more failed to deliver the gold, and in an
attempt to keep the scam going, he provided 20kg of "gold bars" as
collateral, which were stored at MySafe Vault.
At this
point, the victim remained unaware that he was being scammed, and ended up
paying a total of USD 256,000 through two law firms; Owano & Associates
Advocates ($126,000) and Alata & Co. Advocates ($139,200).
After
receiving the money, the scammer attempted to defraud the foreign national of
an additional USD 188,080 which failed as his fraudulent dealings had been
uncovered and a report made to the police.
Swinging
into action, the detectives have burned the midnight oil to uncover the truth,
recovering the 20kg of "gold" that had been provided as collateral. A
thorough analysis revealed that the bars were composed of copper, zinc, and
tin, with no trace of gold but just a well-executed scam.
Further
investigation revealed that the seller's company, PCL Natural Resources Limited,
was not licensed by the Ministry of Mining to deal with gold or any precious
metals.
With this
crucial information, the detectives were able to track down the scammer, Steve
Okoth Odek, who was arrested and processed pending arraignment
The Kenyan DAILY POST.
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