For weeks, there has been public outcry over a woman who was said to be on the run after allegedly defrauding hundreds of Kenyans Sh350 million leaving her victims seeking justice.
However, in the wee hours of Thursday, September 12, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives arrested Pascaline Peter alias Passy Ma Trevor,36, in Kantafu, Machakos County.
Ms Peter, who is now in custody at the Kasarani Police Station, made her name on social media where she said she was in the real estate and shylock businesses.
DCI boss Mohamed Amin said Ms Peter is suspected to have crafted a well-orchestrated scheme that convinced her victims that she could give them good returns for investing their money with her.
“She convinced her victims to deposit large amounts of money into four different bank accounts with a promise of up to 30 per cent monthly interest. In addition, she also falsely claimed that she was running a successful real estate company that she used as bait but once the payments were made she switched off her mobile phone and went into hiding,” the DCI boss said.
So far, at least 106 alleged victims have filed complaints with the police and investigators believe more than 100 others are yet to reach out to detectives.
The suspect is expected to be arraigned in court on Monday, September 16.
An officer, who spoke to the Saturday Nation in confidence as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said Ms Peter was arrested as she packed her clothes and shoes, with detectives saying she could have been planning to travel.
“For weeks the officers were trying to search for her in vain. She had switched off her mobile phone and was not operating from her known home. She must have thought that the matter was now under control as complaints through social media had reduced and she made the decision to go back home leading to her arrest,” the officer said.
The officer further revealed that Ms Peter’s phone was traced to Tigoni and the Kabuku shopping centre in Kiambu County during the period she was on police radar.
She later moved to Naivasha, Narok and Kericho before she finally quietly sneaked back to her home and switched off the mobile phone, according to the investigator.
The last post Ms Peter made on her known Facebook account was on August 19, 2024, before she went silent, causing panic among those who had invested with her hoping for generous returns. The uproar on social media and complaints to the police triggered the investigation.
Ms Peter managed a company known as Pafrim Investment Limited. The company was also selling plots at a cost of Sh650,000 and those interested in buying were invited to visit the site daily.
She also claimed in her Facebook account, which had more than 6,000 followers, that she had invested in the business of selling eggs and was also never shy to post pictures of her apparently lavish lifestyle.
