Insurance fraud suspect arraigned in Kisumu

Kisumu

Friday, October 13, 2023

KNA by Chris Mahandara

A 40-year-old man was arraigned in a Kisumu court charged with forgery and attempting to obtain money by false pretense.

The court heard that the accused Kennedy Ochieng Ogendo on diverse dates of between May 2020 and January 2021 presented forged claim documents seeking Sh. 1.9 million compensation from Jubilee Insurance.

According to the charge sheet, the accused who is a Personal Accident Insurance policyholder with the firm alleged that he had been attacked by unknown assailants along the Sondu-Nyabondo road in Kisumu County chopping off his right wrist.

However, investigations by the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) fraud Investigations Unit established that all the medical documents including hospital discharge letter, treatment notes, medical receipts, and police P3 form attached to support the claim were obtained fraudulently.

Even though the accused reported to have been attacked on 5th January 2021 two months after securing the cover, investigations revealed that the accused was attacked in May 2020 within Chemelil area Kisumu County an attack that left him with a chopped off right arm at the wrist area and by the time of that attack he was not on personal accident insurance cover.

The purported second injury was made up in order to fraudulently obtain compensation from Jubilee Insurance Company Limited.

Appearing before Principal Magistrate Fatima Rashid, the accused denied all the charges.

Defense lawyer Steven Aoko pleaded with the court to release him on a cash bail not exceeding Sh. 50,000 arguing that he was disabled and the sole breadwinner for his young family.

He pleaded for leniency asking the prosecution to furnish the defense with all the witness statements and documents upon which they have based the case.

However, the magistrate issued a Sh. 500,000 bond and one surety of the same amount saying the nature of the charges could not warrant a cash bail.

The accused was remanded for seven days pending the mention of the case.

Courtesy; KNA