A US court has found a group of Kenyans guilty of defrauding a Northern Virginia locality of more than Sh60 million by pretending to be tech firm Dell workers.
Robert Muli, 60, who is an immigrant living in Ohio State, was arraigned on Monday as a ring leader who conspired with other Kenyans to defraud the US government.
According to the Washington Post, the prosecution said affected cities included Philadelphia and Detroit and the state of Vermont
Prosecutors said the group worked in a well-orchestrated manner.
A co-conspirator in Kenya would email a contact in the local government pretending to be an employee from Dell, the court was told.
Alternatively, they would call another contractor and asking that payments be directed to a new bank account.
The kingpin, who was arrested a day before he flew to Kenya, would then withdraw that money and transfer it to various accounts.
Muli, who now stares at up to 20 years in prison, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and will be sentenced on October 4.
The case unfolded between August and September 2018, according to court papers.
US government is said to have sent Sh130 million ($1.3 million) to Muli that was supposed to go to Dell for a public school programme, according to prosecutors.
It took several emails back and forth between Dell and the government to make clear the money was not going to its account.
The government was able to cancel about half the wire transfers sent.
According to the court records, the group also stole Sh13 million ($130,000) from the city of Detroit and $3,900 from the State of Vermont.
The Washington Post also reports that the group also attempted to steal $230,000 (Sh23 million) from Philadelphia, but all of the money was recovered.
