More than white lies: The tricks of foreign con artists

By Moses Michira

She wears the mask of a wealthy, generous and honest — even naïve — woman, who works for the United Nations. By the time she sends a seemingly cursory request for money to sort out an emergency, she would have met her victims in Nairobi several times and gained their confidence. She also knows that in the mind of some Nairobians the colour of her skin is sufficient assurance of her credibility.

She introduces herself as Susan Lee, but nobody knows for sure if this is her actual name. She is thought to be a Hong Kong national, but again nobody can confirm this with certainty.

Susan’s supposed accomplice, said to be Belgian, goes by the real or imaginary name of Derick van den Berghe. Together they make a duo of smooth con artists that has left some Nairobians, many unwilling to admit it, counting their loses.

The latest to fall victim to the con game are some nuns at the city’s Mount Carmel Convent, who have reportedly lost at least Sh2 million to Susan. And they are not alone. Peter Kimani, an elderly man, had Sh380,200 swindled out of him.

The worst part of the saga is that both Peter and the nuns have sunk so deep into the trap that they do not yet believe they have been conned.

Indeed, Peter has sued the Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo to produce his two foreign ‘friends’ (Susan and Derick), who he alleges police arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on May 11 and locked up in an unknown location.

While The Nairobian cannot go into the merits and demerits of the ongoing court case, our investigations reveal that Susan has used the same trick multiple times. Her storyline is similar to those used by e-mail hackers, who send distress mail to your contacts claiming you are stuck abroad and in need of emergency cash.

The only difference is that Susan makes such requests only to people she has met in person and cultivated trust in. Her requests for money are usually carefully crafted.

Version One:

 Her bags have been detained at the airport because customs officers want her to pay duty or a bribe for second-hand clothes donations from Switzerland. And inside one of the detained bags is a mouth-watering $500,000 in cash (Sh43.5m), part of which she intends to use to set up an orphanage.

So how do you come in as her ‘friend’? For some reason she is unable to access her cash on short notice. So could you please lend her some little money, say $20,000 (Sh1.7 million) to facilitate the release of the luggage? You will get it back immediately with ‘something small’ on top for the trouble. Besides — and this is mostly implied — you will have cemented a friendship that has future financial benefits.  

You are unable to raise all the money at once but Susan says it is fine, you can give her in instalments and even get help from friends. She is absolutely sorry to bother you but she is relying on you because she does not know many people in Kenya.

Version Two:

Her two nephews have been detained at JKIA. She is at a conference in Nairobi and is unable to get any cash on short notice.

Version three:

This time it is ‘Derick’, who is in trouble, as the high-end hotel he is living in has threatened to kick him out. The money will be returned when Susan, who had travelled abroad on a short trip, returns.

Susan met one of the city nuns through a mutual friend. The foreigner claimed she came into the country to establish an orphanage to save destitute children around Thika and Kiambu.

In her first visit, however, Susan claimed she had been conned in a land acquisition transaction as she sought a place to build the orphanage. In the subsequent visits, she sought the help of the nun and other friends in finding a trustworthy seller. In all this, she was buying their confidence while portraying the image of a victim of fraud.

Details in court papers sworn by Peter indicate that Susan first came to Kenya on April 19 from Switzerland, together with her ‘nephew’ Derick, who would help in managing the orphanage. Susan supposedly set out to acquire a piece of land in Limuru, which she paid for but was later to find out that it did not have legitimate ownership documents.

She then claimed she sought another parcel, which supposedly had proper documentation. A deal was struck between her and the seller that she would make a down payment and the balance was to be paid later. Admittedly, Peter did not know where either of the parcels of land was. Susan then reportedly had to travel back to Switzerland to find the remaining amount, leaving behind Derick who was staying at a high-end hotel in Gigiri. While she was away, Derick put through a call to Peter asking for a soft loan to clear his hotel bills. The money, he promised, would be refunded once Susan returned.

Peter, being the good friend, sent the money to Derick, marking the start of a long and winding affair between him and the foreigners. Whenever Peter sought to visit the hotel, Derick always excused himself saying that he had gone to the Belgian Embassy.

Missing name

Later, Susan supposedly arrived at JKIA on May 7. She claimed her bags were held, though she was allowed to leave so that she could find the required amount. Our investigations reveal that Susan could not have travelled on the said flight from Geneva because her name was not on the manifest, neither were there any bookings for detained baggage by the customs office.

Peter and the nun were called upon to help over the next four days in a rollercoaster of intrigues, twists and turns. Peter’s lawyer Rumba Kinuthia now acknowledges that his clients may have been duped, but is still hopeful that he could find some reprieve.

Jean Gilchrist, chief executive of KSCPA, an animal welfare organisation, was much luckier after resisting Susan’s push to be her best friend. Jean was sceptical, especially after Susan became too friendly, inviting her for lunch and even buying gifts like necklaces. 

Later, Susan sent Jean an e-mail asking for  money to clear several gold bars destined for Switzerland that had been detained by police at the JKIA. Susan’s sister had supposedly been arrested for illegally transporting several bars of gold valued at over Sh100 million. Jean was to provide Sh5 million ($60,000) to enable Susan’s sister to pay her way out.

UN conference

Susan claimed she could not come to her sister’s aid immediately as she was attending a UN conference in a far-off countryside town deep in Switzerland where she could not find her bank.

As usual, the money would be refunded with interest — and, as a sign of good faith, Jean would even be allowed to keep the goods until the money was paid back. Jean did not bite the bait.

For now, as the victims live in denial, Susan and Derick have probably moved on to target the next gullible Kenyan. And it could be you.