How I was scammed trying to buy Copper wire scrap

How I was scammed trying to buy Copper wire scrap.

How I was scammed trying to buy Copper wire scrap from Kenya.

This is the story of how a Chinese National was scammed trying to buy Copper wire scrap from Africa.

I contacted a man named Joe Mpanzi from the Facebook Group Copper Cable Scrap. Then I was looking to buy 1,000 tons of copper wire scrap to Korea. We agreed on the price which was $2,800 per ton. Like every other person I was cautious but guess it wasn’t enough. I asked for the company registration documents and pictures of the stock which he sent. After confirming the documents and pictures, I sent him my Letter of Intent. He responded with the Full Corporate offer and we had a little problem with the payment terms.

According to him their company takes a 50% down payment before they can organize the goods for delivery. I proposed working with LC but he declined. I told him I can’t do a 50% down payment and will only work on LC. He refused changing the terms and that was it. We didn’t write each other for 2 months and during this time I contacted another company.

This new company sold a ton of copper wire scrap for $3,800 per ton and was in the same country of Kenya. They too refused taking payment by LC but invited me to come visit their ware house. The sales manager Mr George Juma was very nice and welcoming. He answered all my questions and sent me pictures and videos of the stock. Our correspondence lasted for over a month and I was ready to come to Kenya.

I sent Mr. Juma my passport and he helped me apply for the business Visa which cost $500. The process took 1 week and I was issued a Visa. The next day I booked my flight and sent a copy to Mr Juma for he was supposed to pick me up from the airport. I arrived in Kenya on the 14th of February 2025 and was picked up by the driver from Mr Juma’s company. He took me to a hotel and left. After about 2 hours Mr Juma called, welcomed me to the country and asked to meet around 6:00PM.

We went to a restaurant, had dinner and then he drove me back to my hotel. The meeting to visit his warehouse was scheduled the next day at 9:30 AM. The driver was to pick me up by 8:45 AM. I went to the warehouse and saw the stock and was impressed. They had about 4,000 tons ready to go. After the inspection and testing, we drove back to their office which was 1 hour away for the contract signing. We agreed on a 30% down payment and the balance 70% after receipt of the Bill of Lading from Maersk.

I came back to my hotel and was supposed to call my partner to do the bank transfer for the 30% advance from Thailand. This is when everything went bad. Scrolling through my phone I saw the number of Mr. Joe Mpanzi the first person I contacted. I told him I’m in the country and would like to meet. He told me he was not around and that he traveled to Dubai but his associates could meet up with me. I gave him the address to my hotel and a gentleman who identified as Mr. James Ruto came for a meeting. We had a small meeting in the hotel lobby and I told him about my contract signing with Mr Juma. I told him about their price of $3,800 per ton and immediately he told me he knew Mr Juma and that they supply to him. He told me they sell to Mr Juma for $2,800 and he resells for $3,800.

In that moment I was filled with greed and wanted the cheap price. I was already in the country and didn’t want to skip the opportunity of saving $1,000 per ton. This was my mistake for Mr. Joe Mpanzi was a scammer. I called my partner and told him we will buy from Mr. Joe Mpanzi instead, told him about the price difference and he was thrilled.

We signed the contract same day and my partner wired the money to their account(50% advance). I was so stupid and could’ve asked to visit their warehouse as well. The transfer took 2 business days to clear into their account. I was told to wait for 3 more days so they can complete the packing into containers.

Mr. George Juma called me and I told him there was an emergency so had to go back to Thailand which was a lie. 5 days passed and I did not hear from Mr Joe Mpanzi or Mr James Ruto. They weren’t replying to my text messages. It was then that I called Mr Juma and told him what happened. He told me I have been scammed and took me to the Police so I can write a report. The police weren’t very helpful and wanted me to pay for them to open and investigation.

Till date I have not been able to get in contact with the scammers and nothing helpful from the police as well.

Ever since the incident I have been so devastated. I lost $1,400,000 to scammers and haven’t recovered since. I hope others can learn from my story and avoid losing money.

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