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Three of the seven family members convicted of defrauding a city trader of Sh96 million in a fake land deal were yesterday sentenced to serve a total of nine years in prison without an option of fine.

Former Milimani Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku, who is currently based in Mombasa in the same position, ordered Francis Kiruthi, Ngai Njeru and Irene Waweru to serve three years in jail each for obtaining money by false pretences.

They were not given the option of paying fines to avoid the jail sentences.

The four others namely Charity Njue, Gerald Guchu, Annah Waweru and Regina Kinyanujui, who were convicted of acquiring property from proceeds of crime were ordered to pay a Sh200,000 fine or serve 12 months in jail each.

All the convicts were each given 14 days to appeal if “they so wish.”

Magistrate said there was enough evidence that the seven took the money pretending they would sell the trader an 100-acre parcel of land in Kajiado county 11 years ago.

“Prosecution, led by Senior State prosecutor Pamela Venda, proved the case against each of the convicts beyond reasonable doubt,” the magistrate said.

  Mutuku ruled that Kinyanjui, Njeru and Waweru defrauded George Mungai, the proprietor of Thorn Hill Holdings Limited the money in March and April 2011.

They received the payments in two tranches of Sh9 million and Sh81 Million respectively on March 9 and April 11, 2011 at the Prime Bank Limited, Riverside Branch in Nairobi.

Court heard that after pocketing the proceeds of crime, the convicts purchased various properties in Nairobi and Ruiru.