Melissa Caddick’s life in hiding: ‘She would need help’
A private investigator has provided an insight into how Melissa Caddick could live a life under the radar for almost 14 weeks. We take a look at some of the disguises she may be using.
Police & Courts
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Missing alleged fraudster Melissa Caddick is hiding out somewhere, but how is she doing it? We ask the experts, and we have some fun with potential disguises she may — or may not — be using.
A leading private investigator with a career hunting fugitives believes missing woman Melissa Caddick has radically changed her appearance to live incognito.
The 49-year-old hasn’t been seen in 13 weeks after federal investigators raided her house as part of an investigation into the misappropriation of clients’ funds.
NSW Police is leading the investigation into her disappearance and working on the assumption the mother-of-one is still alive and in the absence of evidence suggesting otherwise.
Ken Gamble, IFW Global chairman, has started researching the accused fraudster’s case and strongly believes she orchestrated her own disappearance.
It was difficult to remain missing in the long term, he said, and Ms Caddick would need help.
“Somebody has to be helping you because you have to buy groceries, you have to have some sort of life,” he said.
“I have no doubt there is someone helping her and helping to conceal her. It has to be someone she trusts.
“The fugitives that survive the longest are those that have money. You can rent a property in someone else’s name and COVID has provided the perfect excuse to do everything electronically now.”
Ms Caddick is still listed as a missing person and technically won’t be a fugitive until a criminal investigation into the fraud is launched and an arrest warrant is issued.
Mr Gamble said Ms Caddick wasn’t accessing her emails and while it would be very difficult to leave the country due to border closures, her links to the US were worth investigating further. Mr Gamble helped track down alleged conman Peter Foster, who was on the run for a year.
In 2014, Mr Gamble and police tracked Foster, who had grown his hair long and had a beard, hiding in Ewingsdale near Byron Bay.
Mr Gamble said he had investigated dozens of missing person cases and believed it was easier for woman to change their appearance.
“Women wear make up and dye their hair,” he said.
“You could put a blonde wig on a dark haired woman and her own best friend won’t recognise her.
“Melissa has quite big teeth and a prominent smile and that would be distinguishable to her friends or family.
“But she is a pretty normal looking woman and that’s not an assessment of her attractiveness, she could transform her appearance quite easily.”
But it would be a stark contrast to the polished image she maintained while running her company, Maliver Pty Ltd.
Ms Caddick spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on her appearance, from dressing head to toe in designer clothing to a personal trainer and frequent trips to the hairdresser.
It was at Joh Bailey in Bondi Junction where she met her husband, 38-year-old hairdresser Anthony Koletti.
He enjoyed the fruits of her lavish lifestyle until she disappeared. After the Federal Court slapped a freezing order over Ms Caddick’s assets and bank accounts, Mr Koletti told the court he had been left with only $1.95 in his bank account.
About $20 million in clients’ funds passed through Ms Caddick’s accounts between January 2018 and September 2020.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) began investigating the 49-year-old last year after a tip-off that she was using someone else’s financial services licence.
Then on November 11, ASIC raided her Dover Heights mansion and seized designer goods, computers and business records.
That was the last time she was seen by anyone other than her husband and 15-year-old son. Neither her husband or son are accused of any wrongdoing in relation to the ASIC investigation or her disappearance.
Many of Ms Caddick’s clients started off as friends before they trusted her to manage their superannuation and investments.
This was indicative of her personality, Mr Gamble said, and her likely inability to feel empathy for the people she impacted.
“These types of people, they have no conscience or remorse or the ability to feel remorse towards people,” he said.
“The biggest challenge for her is lying low.
“It will start to wear her down for a period of time and she will start feeling it emotionally after several months.
“It’s not any easy thing to jump from the glamorous life she had to isolation.”
NSW Police have followed up about 50 tips about Ms Caddick’s whereabouts, from Victoria to South Australia and Queensland over the past three months.