Infamous conwoman Samantha Azzopardi sentenced for lying about sex assault to police

Infamous conwoman Samantha Azzopardi, who has 40 aliases and international fraud convictions, has been sentenced after she lied to police about being part of a cult and sexually assaulted.

A woman who claimed she was part of a cult, held captive and sexually assaulted has escaped jail time after making false claims to police.

Samantha Azzopardi, a 33-year-old international scam artist with more than 40 aliases, fronted Picton Local Court on Wednesday after earlier pleading guilty to two charges of falsely representing an act to police.

She committed the acts after being released from jail after she had been sentenced for child stealing offences in Victoria.

On Wednesday morning, Azzopardi ran into the courtroom to escape the media out the front of the courthouse and was seen visibly shaking and upset.

In sentencing, Magistrate Mark Douglass said the matters were “significant” and “serious”.

He told the court that he accepts Azzopardi had a mental illness or condition that she was “impacted by” when she committed the offences and he would take that into account.

“In relation to this matter, this court is also aware this particular offender has the capacity to commit serious offences,” Magistrate Douglass said.

“Her record is evidence of that.”

Samantha Azzopardi.

Azzopardi was sentenced to a three-year community corrections order with the orders to participate in mental health treatment and take medication as directed.

Magistrate Douglass then addressed Azzopardi directly in court.

“What you did and what you pleaded guilty to was wrong on many levels,” Magistrate Douglass said.

“It was legally wrong. Do you understand that?”

“Yes,” Azzopardi responded.

“If it happens that you are in breach of these orders you will be brought back to court,” Magistrate Douglass added.

According to the court documents, the Douglas Park resident contacted a youth worker at Youth Off The Streets on November 19 and claimed she was a teenage member of a cult.

The facts state Azzopardi, who is listed in some court documents as Emily Bamberger, told the youth worker her parents had sent her from Brisbane to live with a man who had regular non-consensual sex with her, took photos of her, and held her captive.

Con artist Samantha Azzopardi (aka Emily Bamberger) leaves Picton court house with her lawyer. Picture: Simon Bullard

She told the youth worker she sometimes slept in the park to avoid the ‘22-year-old man’, according to documents tendered to the court. The youth worker subsequently called the Child Protection Helpline, which triggered a police investigation.

The police facts state officers arranged with the youth worker to meet Azzopardi, who was using the 16-year-old alias Eleanor Harris, on November 22 but she failed to show.

Court documents allege that a week later, Azzopardi went to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and told a doctor she was a 16-year-old girl who had been sexually assaulted.

She spun the doctor a story similar to what she’d told the youth worker, adding that she had been injected with a fertility drug against her wishes. However, documents tendered to the court state she ran off before the doctor was able to perform an examination.

Later that day, the facts state she met with the youth worker who noticed she had a bruise under her eye. According to the documents, Azzopardi told her ‘Aaron’ had hit her. However, police noted the bruise was absent when they visited her house on the same day.

Azzopardi was arrested on December 1 after she made another call to the youth worker, who informed police.

Con artist Samantha Azzopardi (aka Emily Bamberger) leaves Picton courthouse with her lawyer. Picture: Simon Bullard

At her last court appearance in March, Magistrate Mark Douglass refused the application to dismiss the charges on the grounds of her mental health, telling the court it would result in “a lack of accountability” and the court could not have faith that Azzopardi’s good behaviour breaches would be reported.

“Diversion is not robust enough to protect the community from further offence, given the consistent offending and the nature and seriousness of the offending,” he said at the time.

“In my view her complex condition and personality traits need to be managed with vigour.”

Azzopardi’s lawyer Carolyn Shiels had told the court that none of the offences, even that very serious “child stealing” charge, involved violence or malicious intent and that her client has depressive disorder, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder.

Magistrate Douglass ordered a sentencing assessment report for Azzopardi, stating that she had provided different stories to the authors of the reports tendered to the court.

Con artist Samantha Azzopardi (aka Emily Bamberger). Picture: Simon Bullard

She was released on bail in late December after 20 days in custody and given extremely strict bail conditions, which include not accessing a computer or using the internet on her phone.

Azzopardi has 40 recognised aliases and has been convicted of international fraud, the documents state.

“The accused is skilled at fraud and con artistry,” the police facts state.

According to the court documents, Azzopardi falsely claimed she was a victim of human trafficking in Ireland and cause police to launch a $300,000 investigation. She also wasted $159,000 in Canadian police resources when she told police she was kidnapped and tortured.