Melbourne’s biggest fraudsters, scoundrels and conmen to go do down in 2020
A coke-fiend boss, a flash banker, a Ponzi scheme pop and not one but two dirtbag sons who ripped off their dads make up just a few of the despicable fraudsters to go down in 2020.
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From stealing their parent’s life savings to threatening to destroy their lovers and asking their dead victim’s families to keep paying up, it’s absurd what some money-hungry people will do to get their hands on cash.
And what can be more shocking is how they choose to blow the high-stakes money.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the biggest fraudsters who were made to pay for their crimes in 2020.
CROWN CASINO LOVE LEECH: JOCELYN ZAKHOUR
Jocelyn Zakhour — a former Mahogany Room Ultra-Black member who had her own “handlers” — was living at the casino when she targeted her two victims in 2018.
The sly seductress told both men she needed cash to invest in a blueberry and illegal tobacco farm in NSW, promising her first victim a “300 per cent” return.
He transferred $728,700 to Zakhour between June and November 2018.
Zakhour rinsed him with lies, including that a truckload of illegal cigarettes had been intercepted by police, and that she needed cash for her employees and for legal fees.
Zakhour then elevated to threats, saying he would be “implicated” in the bogus tobacco operation.
She told him: “If he (the victim) did not get the money, the employees would find him and his family and harm them.”
The victim told Zakhour he could get no more money so she told him to take it “out of his super”.
“Tell your ex-wife you will kill yourself if she doesn’t give you the money,” Zakhour said.
Zakhour then sent him 240 emails threatening his ex-wife, children and mother before he reported her to police.
Zakhour admitted to losing all the stolen cash playing Baccarat and pokies at the casino and told police the victim “knew what type of girl I was”.
“I don’t feel sorry for him, how can you be so stupid to believe those stories.”
Zakhour fleeced $61,000 from her second victim.
The 41-year-old was sentenced to a minimum two years’ and eight months’ jail and a maximum of four years’ and six months’ jail in the County Court in September.
DIRTBAG SON: KYLE KEPKEY
A son who stole $1 million from his dad, leaving him with $19.34 in the bank, was jailed.
Kyle Kepkey blew his dad’s cash on a flash lifestyle of drugs, partying, online games, Tinder, travel, fast women and fast cars.
Kepkey fleeced $1,001,330.00 from his dad’s bank account via 279 bogus transactions between February 2017 and February 2019 after his dad sold his home for $1,181,792.
The victim, who was “careful with his spending”, estimated he could live off $70,000 a year.
But Kepkey, who was earning $2000 a fortnight working for two tech companies, manipulated his dad’s online bank account to gain access to the cash and devised an alert which informed him anytime his dad received an SMS.
His crimes were uncovered after his father attempted to withdraw cash but had insufficient funds.
Kepkey then admitted he blew $4000 a week on drugs.
“My dad’s not very tech savvy, so it almost became too easy,” he said.
The luxuries Kepkey blew his dad’s hard-earned money on included transferring his partner $20,000 to go shopping and $10,000 to his ex-girlfriend as “remuneration for the break-up.”
He gave $12,000 to his best mate for his wedding, regularly paid a friend’s rent and spent almost $3000 on Deliveroo and $15,000 on Uber.
Kepkey withdrew more than $200,000 in cash, spent almost $300,000 using PayPal to buy “random shit”, $22,000 on online gaming, $22,000 on Amazon, almost $13,000 at Bunnings, $17,000 at JB Hi-FI, almost $15,000 at EB Games and more than $2000 on premium Tinder purchases.
He also gave drug dealers access to his dad’s account so they could withdraw debt money.
Kepkey was sentenced to a minimum of three years’ jail and a maximum of five years’ at the County Court in July.
CREATIVE COKE FIEND: KIMBERLEY HARLOW
The manager of an exclusive media agency, who fleeced almost $300,000 from the company to fund her cocaine-addiction, gambling, travel, bars and Uber Eats, was jailed.
Kimberley Harlow was head of digital and creative for Essential Media Communications when she stole $291,450 between November 2017 and December 2018.
Harlow created 132 bogus invoices ranging from $300-$11,000 which were paid directly to Condiment Creative Pty Ltd — a company she owned with her business partner and ex-girlfriend.
The highly paid fraudster charged for non-existent work including video editing and other digital services.
Harlow gave a “legitimate response” when she was queried on why every digital project was coming in over budget and who Creative Condiment was.
It wasn’t until January 2019 that her crimes were discovered when the agency’s accountant reported unexpected cost increases were attributable to Condiment Creative and it was revealed its account shared the same BSB as the account Harlow received her wages in.
Harlow then admitted to management she stole the money because she and her unemployed partner were “heavily addicted to cocaine” and she “owed lots of people money”.
Only $301.16 remained in Condiment Creative’s account when Harlow was referred to police, with the money having been spent on flights, hotels, bars, Uber Eats and cash transfers.
The 30-year-old was sentenced to a minimum 16 months’ jail and a maximum of two years’ and nine months’ before the County Court in August.
BENT BANKER: ANDI LEE
Thieving bank manager Andi Lee, who stole $4.2 million via a sophisticated racket to fund a lavish lifestyle, was jailed.
Lee was the Bank of Melbourne’s Doncaster branch manager when he created bogus term deposit accounts to dupe customers and the Westpac Bank between August 2015 and April 2019.
The Doncaster man, preyed on two married couples — one of who were guests at his wedding — and a customer who left work to care for his elderly mother.
He offered his victims bogus term deposit deals, then repaid his victims some money as a ruse to show their accounts were active and still accruing interest.
In reality, Lee had transferred their cash to a bogus “mule” account he controlled and other accounts held by his associates, with the balance going directly to him.
With the cash Lee bought two Porsches for $280,000, gambled, paid for travel and fine dining and lavished his girlfriend with a “wide range of expensive items”.
He further used the stolen money to pay a deposit for his sister’s apartment, make mortgage payments for his ex-wife’s home, and invest in a Footscray Japanese restaurant Hanzo Bābekyū.
The 39-year-old was sentenced to a minimum three years’ and 10 months’ jail and a maximum of seven years’ and eight month’s before the County Court in September.
He was also ordered to repay $4.2 million to Westpac.
FROSTY THE CONMAN: PETER BAIRD
Eastern Football League legend Peter ‘Frosty’ Baird, who lived a double-life as a cheque-bouncing serial swindler, was jailed.
The Berwick man ran a Catch Me if You Can-style bogus cheque racket which left a trail of victims, including the mother of his children.
He threw around valueless cheques to purchase cars, pay bills and rent and even lay down a $94,000 deposit for a house.
The former Rowville Football Club president left his former partner with a $58,000 debt after he ducked on an agreement to cover bills in lieu of child support.
Instead, Baird “intercepted” the woman’s mail to make it appear he had paid the bills, the court was told.
The fraudster then opened 10 accounts — two in his dad’s name — with Bankwest Online between July and December, 2014.
Baird ripped off $82,000 by depositing cheques into these accounts in person then immediately withdrawing cash before the cheques could bounce.
Baird played senior football with Knox and Koo Wee Rup and held an assistant coaching role at Surrey Park while offending.
The 47-year-old was sentenced to a minimum 30-months’ jail and a maximum of three years’ and nine months’ before the County Court in May.
SCOUNDREL SON: DAVID ANDERSON
Scoundrel son John Anderson, who siphoned $543,000 from his dying dad’s bank account for gambling, legal fees and a new boat, was jailed.
The Ferntree Gully man kicked off his deceit after he was made executor of his father’s will in February 2014.
Mr Anderson left all his wealth to his wife, Veronica Anderson, if she survived him and she did.
Had Mrs Anderson passed away, half the wealth would go to Anderson and his sister, with the rest split between various stepchildren.
In July 2014, Anderson was made power of attorney after his father’s dementia rendered him “incapable of making reasonable decisions”.
But Anderson’s sister grew suspicious about her brother and his role power of attorney came to an end in April 2016.
New administrators of the dad’s affairs then discovered “numerous financial irregularities”, including dozens of bank transfers to accounts held by Anderson and other “third parties”
Police investigations revealed Anderson funnelled $542,991 into several bank accounts between June 2014 and April 2016.
He blew the cash on gambling, a divorce and a new boat as his dad lay dying of Parkinson’s disease in a special care facility.
The 44-year-old was sentenced to a minimum two years’ jail and a maximum of three years’ in the County Court in September.
BOGUS BILLIONAIRE: NEIL WRIGHT
Callous conman Neil Wright, who posed as a billionaire to swindle cash from multiple victims, including a dying man, as part of a “much larger” illegal enterprise, was jailed.
The Albert Park man “masterminded” complex fraud which left several families in financial ruin and unable to pay for food.
He stole $678,617 from seven victims between 2007 and 2015 with his criminal lackey, claiming he needed cash for a fantasy legal battle to access his non-existent $4 billion trust fund and promising big money returns on “investments”.
None of the cash — the bulk of which was swallowed up by Wright — was recovered.
The conmen strung their victims along with a series of lies including how the Reserve Bank, politicians, lawyers, judges and bankers were holding up the cash.
One victim lost his business, others fell into financial ruin, and some got in strife with the Australian Taxation Office.
Another victim — who lost almost $75,000 to Wright — died while waiting for his money to be returned.
Wright then asked the victim’s son for more money after the man died.
Judge Michael McInerney said Wright “appeared to be involved in a much larger enterprise”.
The 69-year-old was sentenced to a minimum of two years’ and six months’ jail and a maximum of three years’ and 11 months’ before the County Court in April.
PONZI PILFERER: GUNTER LANG
Lang rinsed almost $6.5 million from 30 victims between January 2014 and September 2015 by presenting as a bogus chief executive and accredited trader who could deliver fat returns on low-risk investments.
The Gladstone Park pensioner prowled stock market share seminars targeting investors for his company G. A. Lang & Associates.
But his stock market knowledge was mainly limited to what he had read on the internet.
Lang told investors he was making “substantial profits” but was haemorrhaging cash.
He tried to “trade himself out of trouble” by investing in “high risk” US and German shares but this move just “accelerated” the losses.
Lang dropped $738,000 on ATM withdrawals, household goods and credit cards but the rest of his victims’ millions went down the drain.
Lang spun various lies including telling victims his “hacked” trading account had been “frozen by ASIC and the Federal Police” and their money had been stolen.
His victims –— many of whom were elderly retirees — lost everything when he declared bankruptcy.
One lost $3.4 million, while another lost $1.1 million from their late-mother’s estate.
Many victims said they were suffering physical and emotional stress after being left financial destitute, with at least one contemplating suicide.
The 80-year-old was sentenced to a minimum 21-months’ jail and a maximum five years’ and three months’ before the County Court in June.
PUNTING PROPERTY MANAGER: SHAUN KELLY
A “greedy” property shyster, who fleeced $1.5 million from a family owned company then dumped $300,000 on horse racing, was put behind bars.
Shaun Kelly stole $1,498,000 from the Moundous Group while working as a property manager for the land subdivision company between March 2017 and March 2018.
The fraudster deposited amounts ranging from $50,000 to more than $340,000 into his own accounts, stealing $900,000 in just four months.
Kelly told police he splashed the cash on gambling debts, credit cards, living expenses and his farming business.
The court heard the father-of-three dumped between “$200,000 and $300,000” punting on horse racing while at the Gold Coast.
The 48-year-old was sentenced to a minimum of three years’ and five months’ jail and a maximum of five years’ and six months’ before the County Court in May.
COKE-ADDICT CRUISE CAPTAIN: ADAM CROWE
Adam Crowe, a “trusted” financial controller at the Flinders St company, moved $678,893 into a fake petty cash account across 163 transactions between September 2014 and February 2017.
The Gisborne father-of-five moved a further $33,075 into his personal account 2015, with the payments guised as legitimate transactions including for utility, food and alcohol.
Crowe gambled most of the cash, thinking his next win could repay his employer.
He was found out when the company’s general manager noticed the business was borrowing large amounts to pay tax debts despite having a good financial turnover.
Crowe was confronted and admitted the haul.
The 42-year-old pleaded guilty to the thefts in the County Court in October and will be sentenced at a later date.
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