Kevin Sheedy, Tommy Little named as special guests for charity shams
A serial scammer used stars including AFL great Kevin Sheedy and comedian Tommy Little as bait to reel in cash for fake charity nights in Frankston and beyond, as more people come forward to reveal they’ve been tricked by the conwoman.
South East
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AFL legend Kevin Sheedy and comedian Tommy Little were used as lures by a conwoman who has scammed thousands of dollars from businesses and community groups.
Since the Leader outed Rhiannon Pilton as a fake awards nights and events organiser last week, other groups and individuals have come forward to reveal they were victims of her scams too.
One sham event was a charity cabaret night with Sheedy named as the special guest.
The Rosebud Country Club confirmed the Christmas fundraiser which was advertised for November 16 with Sheedy as a guest speaker, did not go ahead.
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It is unknown how much money Ms Pilton took in sales for the event, which promised ‘dinner, drinks, a cabaret show and top musical act’.
‘Raising much needed funds for crisis and emergency relief’, the invitation read.
“We did raise a voucher for one round of golf for two players, including a golf cart which coincided with an overnight’s accommodation at Fairways Resort onsite at the club,” a club spokeswoman told the Leader.
“I have cancelled the golf voucher and the resort will be doing the same (for) the accommodation.”
Sheedy’s long-term manager Jeanette Curwood said the AFL great did not attend an event for Ms Pilton, and confirmed that he was booked for a separate event on November 16.
A Jetty Road Brewery Dromana spokeswoman confirmed a comedy night on October 24 last year, where funny man Tommy Little was named as the headline act, did not go ahead.
“I was highly suspicious of her in the lead up to the event, and six weeks out, we needed confirmation with the menu and invoices … she was untouchable so I pulled the pin,” the woman said.
“Everything with her was a red flag. In absolutely no way is Jetty Road Brewery affiliated with Agency83 or Rhiannon personally.”
The Leader believes Ms Pilton took money through ticket sales website Eventbrite for a number events that did not go ahead or drew poor attendance last year, including a silent disco, comedy shows and the cabaret night.
Comedy night ‘Belly Laughs for Fuller Bellies’, drew poor crowds at Safety Beach Sailing Club on October 24 last year.
Catering manager David Snooks confirmed Ms Pilton short-changed the venue more than $1400.
“She called me on the Sunday before the event, saying another venue had cancelled … we organised to charge $35 per head for people eating dinner, and $6 per head for those having drinks,” he said.
“Only 25 people showed up (out of 100).”
In the days after the event, Mr Snooks received dozens of calls from the event’s entertainers all asking how they could get in contact with Ms Pilton for payment, including a comedian, MC, artist and cartoonist.
Mr Snooks said Ms Pilton eventually made contact and claimed she had undergone a kidney transplant and that her mother had passed away. The Leader understands her mother is alive and well.
“Rhiannon said money would be forthcoming in 30 days. We didn’t hold our breath, but we got a few hundred dollars,” he said.
“She’s got something very wrong with her. It’s not moral and it’s not normal to do something like this.”
It is unknown if a ‘kids only’ silent disco at Rosebud, for which tickets were advertised to include a ‘bottle of water, glow stick, silent disco headphone hire and gift bag on departure’ ever went ahead on November 2 last year.
‘Venue will be locked and security on hand to ensure all are in a safety setting … 18 plus event coming soon,’ the invitation read.
Staff from the Southern Peninsula Community Support and Information Centre – a Rosebud charity which was named the benefactor for the comedy, cabaret and silent disco night — refused to comment.
Following last week’s Leader story that Ms Pilton had allegedly scammed about $30,000 from unwitting participants in a fake Frankston small business awards ceremony, photographer Josh Brnjac, who was named as a ‘winner’ said he had been scammed “hundreds of dollars” by Ms Pilton but managed to retrieve the funds through his bank.
“During the course of the awards I met Rhiannon a few times … I took her out to lunch one day and actually contacted a psychologist after about her as I was extremely worried,” he said.
“She is extremely erratic … over the course of the awards she sent an insane number of emails daily under her name (or) most of the time, fake aliases (and) employees.”
Marketing specialist Ailsa Page, who was unknowingly advertised as one of the expert panel judges for the awards, said she was “absolutely gobsmacked” by Ms Pilton’s behaviour.
“I was signed up as a judge but I had never heard of the awards night … I’m pretty fussy with what I judge, but it all sounded pretty above board,” she told the Leader.
“I never heard anything back from Rhiannon (after she first made contact) … I had people ringing me up because they couldn’t get in contact with her and because I was listed as a judge.
“I’m a small business advocate so seeing other people ripping off small business gets me annoyed … I can’t believe someone would have the audacity to do something like this.”
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Frankston man John Billing said on social media he declined a nomination for the Frankston Business Awards.
“My business (was) asked to pay to be nominated … why would a business pay to be nominated as opposed to being nominated on merit,” he wrote.
Ms Pilton could not be contacted for comment, including on social media accounts she is believed to be operating under fake names.
Frankston and Rosebud police told the Leader they had not been made aware of the situation.