Controversial car dealer Caleb Orem, popularly known as ‘Ruthless Focus’, is back after a scandalous hiatus.
This week, victims of his fraudulent schemes, who collectively lost millions of shillings, were left in utter disbelief and seething anger after stumbling across his latest YouTube video attempting to defend himself against accusations of financial impropriety and deception.
He even deflected blame onto some of his former clients, insinuating that they were conspiring to defame him.
Many victims, still grappling with the financial repercussions of their dealings with him, have publicly expressed outrage at his audacity to reappear without addressing their grievances or offering any restitution.
Caleb Orem, popularly known in the car trading scene as ‘Ruthless Focus’, once enjoyed a sterling reputation for his marketing acumen and competitive pricing.
He gained widespread acclaim among customers on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube’s Kenyan car community.
On his YouTube channel, he reviewed cars and offered advice on various models. When he first started posting videos in 2018, they were random and unstructured.
He would film himself doing daily chores and cut them into short, mundane videos.
As time passed, the Bachelor of Administration graduate from the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) refined his expertise and eventually built his own networks in the car importation business.
He even quit his job to focus fully on the new venture.
But recent revelations have brought to light a pattern of deception that has left many of his customers reeling in the pain of losing their hard-earned money.
Over the past few months, dozens of distressed victims have bravely come forward to share their harrowing experiences after placing their trust in Caleb for assistance in importing vehicles from Japan.
One such victim, speaking to us on Sunday, April 28, 2024, recounted how they initially admired Caleb’s hustle and apparent success and decided to promote his business.
This turned out to be a terrible mistake.
“Hello Nyakundi, I’m sure you’ve come across the name Caleb Orem (Ruthless Focus). He’s a car dealer well known here on X and YouTube. His marketing skills and competitive prices made him outstanding in the car business. Everyone vouched for him because he conducted legitimate business here on X,” the victim disclosed.
At first, everything seemed above board, with assurances of transparency and reliability.
“I’ve been following him and plan to import or source a car through him in Mombasa (he was helping people for a fee). Last year, I reached out to him via the WhatsApp number in his bio. I wanted him to source a car for me in Mombasa, but he convinced me to import a similar unit from Japan at the same price. I didn’t have any problems with him importing my car because he seemed very legitimate, and I did thorough research on X without finding any dirt on him,” the victim shared.
But as the wheels of the deal started turning, what seemed like a promising partnership soon turned sour.
“I agreed to let him import the unit. Early this year, I made my first deposit, and he shared the agreement with me on WhatsApp. We used WhatsApp since I was in Nairobi and his office was in Nyali. The agreement stated that I had to make a 60% deposit to start the importation process. I asked him to keep me updated on any developments,” the source continues.
As the transaction progressed, communication with Caleb became increasingly sporadic, with calls going unanswered and messages left unread.
“One of his victims came online and tweeted, asking if anyone knew where Ruthless was. They had been searching for him for over a week, but his lines were off.” After that tweet went viral, the car Twitter community took a hard stance against him. Instead of addressing the matter urgently, he waited for about two days before coming online and tweeting a video of himself apologizing. Mind you, during all that time, he didn’t even reach out to us, the victims, before tweeting. It was arrogance at its best,” the victim told us.
United by betrayal, the victims formed support groups, only to face further manipulation from the perpetrator himself.
Zoom meetings became battlegrounds of lies and excuses as Caleb desperately sought to prolong his escape.
“I later discovered that Caleb Orem had deceived over 15 victims.” We formed a WhatsApp group for morale support to show that I’m not alone. He noticed we had formed a WhatsApp group (there was a snitch, a lady called Ambasa, who was really defending him here on X; I guess he was getting information from her because she also came as a victim), and one day he called for a Zoom meeting with all his clients. We all attended, but he came prepared with lies to manage each of us and buy time so he could go into hiding,” the victim recounts in his submission.
Despite their efforts, the victim says that seeking justice has been a challenging task for victims like them.
“I realised that these were all games, so I went to the DCI offices to report the matter. I have an OB, and most, if not all, of us recorded statements at different locations. We left the matter to the DCI to follow up, but it’s been frustrating. The truth is, these DCI officers seem only to want to exploit the victim. When they see me, they just think of money. They were asking for a ridiculous amount of money. I assured them that if Caleb’s arrest occurred, I would promptly pay that amount. I gave them some money to start, but working with them has been stressful because I haven’t seen any significant progress. I think I’ll have to opt for other options.
Caleb also conned his supplier. He was expected to send the remaining balance once the cars arrived at the port of Mombasa. His clients had already paid him enough money for C&F, but he diverted the money for other things. I’ve seen people talking nonsense here on X, saying that some guys were just tarnishing his reputation, but they can’t relate because they’re not the victims. I just want the DCI to do their job,” the victim further laments.
The amusing aspect is that in his most recent email, he insisted on signing a refund form, despite consistently informing me that I had already purchased my car. Pure lies. When you check the refund form, you wonder why I need to provide him with all that information when he already has my account details.
