Police in Nairobi have launched a massive manhunt for city entrepreneur Pascaline Peter, also known as Passy Ma Trevor, who is at the centre of a Sh350 million investment scam.
According to the police, the woman who operated a shylock scheme identified as Pafrim Investment Limited took money from investors, promising a 30 per cent return.
Initially, everything seemed to be running smoothly with regular interest payments, but things quickly took a turn for the worse as payments became delayed and eventually stopped altogether.
Investors from Nairobi, Machakos, and Kajiado counties are now struggling with significant financial losses.
On Wednesday, some of the victims shared their experiences with Citizen TV, many of them choosing to remain anonymous to avoid embarrassment.
One investor revealed that she initially put in Sh100,000, but kept adding more money after receiving interest payments that seemed genuine.
“First I started with 100k, then I went another 100k, another 100k, and then I was not picking my interest for a while,” she said. I took my interest for one month, the next month I took it, and I was like, let me give it back to her.”
The victim, who considered Passy Ma Trevor a friend, lost over Sh5 million.
Another person, who invested nearly Sh1 million, said that despite his initial doubts, he was convinced to invest more after seeing the returns.
“The whole amount I put in, I only withdrew money twice, which I think is Sh94,000 that was returned to me,” he said, adding that his doubts were confirmed when the promised returns stopped coming.
In Machakos County, a group of eight investors who traveled from Ruaka and Kitengela hoping to find Pascaline were unfortunately unable to locate her.
Lynne Magai, one of the victims, who lost over Sh500,000, expressed her worry: “I’m so concerned and I am so worried because before this we have been talking on the phone until this week.”
Ruai Police boss Patricia Yegon confirmed that the police are actively pursuing the suspect.
“We have received three reports, some members of the public who have been conned through online,” Yegon said.”
Investment scams have become increasingly common as fraudsters use ever more sophisticated tactics to deceive unsuspecting Kenyans seeking to grow their income.
Earlier this month, hundreds of victims of the Springmark Investment scam, who reportedly lost over Sh2.4 billion to an online trader, flocked to Eldoret Central Police Station to seek justice.
They accused the suspect, Ambrose Makech Abuti, of defrauding them through a scheme whose prospectus promised an 18 per cent monthly interest rate, with the option to withdraw the funds after six months.
Abuti is said to have frequented social venues in Eldoret, enticing people—including bishops and their congregations—to borrow money and invest in Springmark.
The company collapsed shortly after, failing to deliver on its promises of substantial returns, and the mastermind behind the scam vanished, leaving his clients in severe financial distress.
