When Chanticleer this week heard a first-hand anecdote about Melissa Caddick, the Sydney woman who stole about $30 million using a Ponzi scheme, it gave an insight into her flawed personality.

The incident happened 20 years ago when a Sydney fund manager was approached by a friend and asked to give Caddick a job. After the friend spoke highly of her, the fund manager gave her a mundane clerical job in the back office.