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How suspected fraudster obtained Sh1.8 million loan using hired car
Margaret Warigia at the Makadara Law Courts. She is accused of colluding with others to obtain registration of a hired Toyota Land Cruiser motor vehicle.
A woman suspected to be a member of a syndicate that has been hiring cars before fraudulently transferring the cars’ ownership to themselves and using the vehicles to obtain credit running into millions has been charged with fraud.
Ms Margaret Njeri Warigia who was charged with conspiracy, is also facing a charge of obtaining credit by false pretenses.
Ms Warigia is accused of falsely procuring the transfer of a motor vehicle registration certificate – Logbook – by pretending that the same had been issued by the Directorate of Registration and Licensing at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
She is accused of colluding with others to obtain registration for motor vehicle KDA 202D, a Toyota Land Cruiser, on diverse dates between April 3 and April 5 this year at an unknown place in the country.
She is also accused of obtaining credit by false pretenses and is accused of incurring a debt of Sh1.8 million to Mwananchi Credit Limited where she allegedly took a loan in April.
The suspect is said to have falsely presented a forged logbook in the name of Faith Wathanu Muturi as a collateral for a loan knowing the same was not true.
Ms Warigia was also charged with unauthorized access as she is accused of changing the registration of the vehicle from Vincent Omolo to Faith Wathanu Muturi after illegally gaining access into NTSA systems.
Police believe NTSA officials have been aiding fraudsters obtain motor vehicles’ registration.
The owners of the vehicle had leased it to someone who allegedly transferred its ownership to an accomplice identified as Faith Wathanu Muturi before it was used to obtain the loan by Ms Warigia.
She thereafter defaulted the loan payment and the company contracted auctioneers to recover the vehicle and it was recovered in Machakos county where it was detained by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Later, DCI officers attached to NTSA took over the investigations and arrested Ms Warigia.
She denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Mary Njagi of Makadara Law Courts and was released on a bond of Sh1 million.
The case will be mentioned on July 31 before hearing starts on October 10.
The prosecution intends to consolidate Ms Warigia’s case with that of accomplices who have been charged.
