Helen and Sophie Dimitrijevski: Major update in case against alleged romance scammers
A Gold Coast pair charged with scamming a trio of lonely Queensland men out of a combined half-a-million may ultimately have complaints dropped if mediation is a success, a court has heard.
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A Gold Coast pair charged with scamming a trio of lonely Queensland men out of nearly half a million dollars combined may ultimately have complaints against them dropped if mediation is a success, a court has heard.
Benowa women Helen and Sophie Dimitrijevski, aged 54 and 30 respectively, were due to face a committal hearing in the Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The pair are each facing multiple charges of fraud, and receiving and possessing tainted property, in relation to the alleged scam, in which men from the Darling Downs and Cassowary Coast regions in Queensland, as well as Western Australia, allegedly transferred them $486,000 between June 2022 and February 2023.
They were charged in September of that year, alongside a third co-accused, Mermaid Beach man Murray Iranui Hopa, 54.
Wednesday’s committal hearing for the Dimitrijevskis was significantly delayed as police prosecutor Rodney Keyte and defence counsel Matthew Hynes discussed the case in private.
When they finally approached the bench, the reason for the delay was made clear: an adjournment was being sought, on the basis there would be a new attempt at mediation between the Dimitrijevskis and their alleged victims.
An earlier mediation between the parties was unsuccessful, the court heard.
Should the new mediation be successful, there would be an opportunity to progress the matter via restorative justice channels, an out-of-court process that, if successful, would involve the alleged victims withdrawing their complaints.
According to the Queensland Government, for restorative justice to be acceptable, the charged person/people needs to “agree to the basic facts of the case... acknowledge they have caused harm and take responsibility for their actions... [and] be willing to find an acceptable way to make amends”.
The Dimitrijevskis’ matter was adjourned for a committal mention on June 19.
The multiple fraud charges against Mr Hopa are, however, progressing, with his matter already having been committed to the Southport District Court.
The Crown is yet to present an indictment against Mr Hopa.
At the time of their arrest, Queensland Police said it would be alleged the three male complainants responded to personal advertisements “and were subsequently engaged in what they thought was a paid dating service”.
“It is alleged they made payments and were put in contact with a woman who claimed to be a widow in her fifties,” police said.
“From there, it is alleged the woman claimed she required large payments to get out of a work contract.”
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Originally published as Helen and Sophie Dimitrijevski: Major update in case against alleged romance scammers
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