Man ‘faked death’ for wife to get insurance money

Ezekiel Ochieng Ogoma and Rachel Adhiambo Omondi at the Milimani Law Courts yesterday. They have denied conspiring to defraud Jubilee Insurance Company of Sh600,665. [Kaberia Kalunge, Standard]

Kebenei Kiplimo, the head of fraud investigations at Jubilee Insurance Company, was reading a newspaper when something caught his eye.

It was a story about a man and woman charged with conspiring to defraud Pan Africa Assurance Company of Sh634,936.

The story indicated that two suspects-  Ezekiel Ochieng Ogoma and Rachel Adhiambo Omondi had been charged with faking death to collect compensation from the insurance firm.

His curiosity pricked, Mr Kebenei decided to check Jubilee Insurance records.

Road accident

What he found surprised him.

A woman by the name Rachel Adhiambo Omondi had already been paid Sh600,665 after claiming that her husband, by the name Ezekiel Ochieng Ogoma had died in a road accident.

Yesterday, Kebenei told the court that he was surprised to find that a death claim for Ezekiel Ochieng Ogoma, a Jubilee life client policy number IL201100019293, had already been lodged and paid.

“On April 8, 2014 while reading through a newspaper of the day, I came across news of two persons charged in court with faking a death claim. Out of curiosity, I decided to inquire into our Jubilee records of death claims,” said Kebenei.

“A claim was launched in the name of Ezekiel Ochieng Ogoma husband to Rachel Adhiambo Omondi, the woman that the money was paid to,” said Kebenei Kiplimo.

The court heard that Sh600,665 was paid to the woman via cheque no. 038111 on the September 24,2014.

The investigator told the court that he requested for the client's file and noted the existence of a duly filled application form for life insurance.

He said he also recovered a handwritten letter from a Rachael Adhiambo Omondi of box 75411-00200 dated June 18, 2013 launching a death claim for her husband, a Ezekiel Omondi Ogoma indicating that he died in a road accident along Kisumu-Siaya road on January 29, 2013.

Kebenei also found a letter from Jubilee Insurance dated September 26, 2013, forwarding cheque no. 038111 of Sh600,665 to the beneficiary, Rachael Adhiambo Omondi, as death claim settlement.

The officer said he also found a duly filled certificate of identity signed by the office of assistant chief, Gombe sub-location South Gem and a Kenya Police Abstract on road accident, OB 32/29/1/2013 signed by OCS Yala Police Station.

He added that there was a duly filled certificate of the ‘Attending Physician’ that had been signed but not stamped. The officer also found a duly filled "Claimant’s Statement" done by Rachel on July 5, 2013.

Burial permit

According to Kebenei, there was also a burial permit serial number 400072 dated January 29, 2013 whose issuer was not clear and a certificate of death no. 1179 issued by the registrar, Siaya District.

From the news story, Kebenei told the court that he was able to confirm that the insured ( Ezekiel Omondi Ogoma) was still alive and that the death claim was a fraud.

The company then a lodged a complaint with the police insurance unit in a letter dated April 16, 2014 ref, JICK/SEC/005/2014.

By then, Ogoma and Adhiambo were already facing charges of conspiring to defraud Pan Africa Assurance Company.

On May 30, 2014, the two suspects were charged with claiming compensation from Jubilee.They have pleaded not guilty to both charges and are out on Sh500,000 each. The case constinues today.