A Kenyan woman was on Tuesday charged with defrauding a Dutch national of Sh2.9 million in a fake surrogacy deal.
Winnie Warigia Maina is said to have defrauded the Dutchman named Dion William Van Aardt on the pretext that she could offer surrogacy services to him through her company Family Fertility and Surrogacy Agency Limited.
The court heard that the accused person claimed that she was in a position to find a woman who would carry Dion’s child. Dion told the court that after he met Winnie, who promised to help him get a child, he signed a contract and paid Sh2.9 million to her company.
“They showed me a contract between me and the surrogate and another with the agency,” he said.
He later deposited his semen at the Agha Khan Hospital in Nairobi for examination, which confirmed that they were healthy.
“I felt I could trust Winnie Maina and her agency I signed the contract on January 17, 2018,” he added.
The court heard that the first scan revealed that the child was a boy and Dion began preparing for fatherhood by buying nappies, formula, and planning how he would hire a babysitter. The second scan revealed the child was a girl, and Dion named her after his mother.
A few months later, he received a call from Winnie informing him that the surrogate mother and the child had died.
When Dion’s family demanded to see the bodies of the two, Winnie allegedly declined and instead asked for a fee. Umash funerals home, where Winnie claimed the bodies were preserved said they did not receive the remains.
Dion decided to contact the Aga Khan Hospital about his semen and he was told that they are still intact at the facility. He realized he had been conned and reported the matter to the police.
