Hamish McLaren jailed for minimum of 12 years, with head sentence of 16 years

A District Court judge unleashes on Hamish McLaren as he is sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Hamish McLaren, left, and some of his victims Bec Rosen, Karen Lowe and Tracy Hall. Picture: Supplied/Adam Yip

The crimes of Hamish McLaren were the most “reprehensible” of any financial crimes that can be committed, a judge said as he handed the fraudster who stole more than $7 million a 16 year sentence.

MORE: Who the Hell is Hamish? Podcast

McLaren will spend his fiftieth and sixtieth birthdays behind bars, with a minimum jail period of 12 years.

“These are the worst (financial) offenses against his innocent victims and the community, he has had absolute no compassion,” Judge Colin Charteris told the Darlinghurst District Court.

“How could he stand by and see people draw down their life super funds to be given to him? His behaviour is the most reprehensible one can imagine having regards to offences of this nature.”

Judge Charteris said he was unconvinced by McLaren’s claims of remorse for what he had done, and the offender had “no empathy” for his victims.

“I do not believe he has any remorse for his victims, I believe he is consumed by himself, he is driven by stealing money from other citizens who trusted him. The focus was on his own wellbeing so he could apparently live the high life and spend others retirement savings, I consider it is likely he’s sorry only about his own predicament that … he proceeded only on the basis that he would not be held to account, that his judgment day would not come,” Judge Charteris said in a scathing judgment.

McLaren is the subject of The Australian’s podcast Who the Hell is Hamish — which tracks the web of lies and deception the conman has spun over more than three decades, defrauding everyone he could pull into his fabrications — pensioners, mothers, wealthy business people and even a 17-year-old schoolgirl while he was a young trader on the Sydney Stock Exchange.

McLaren faced a room full of his victims in court this morning, after unsuccessfully applying to attend the sentencing by video-link, rather than giving them the chance to look him in the eye as the Judge handed down his sentence.

Among them were fashion designer Lisa Ho, Tracey Hall, Jane, Peter and Lorraine Cross, Karen Lowe and Nicole Moses.

Tracy Hall outside court. Picture: Adam Yip

His victims broke into applause as his sentence was handed down, and cheered the the judge as McLaren was escourted out of the box.

Throughout sentencing McLaren sat in the centre of the courtroom, surrounded by those he had wronged.

Judge Charteris questioned where the $5.4 million which had never been recovered after McLaren stole it from a variety of his victims.

The judge listed every single one of McLaren’s victims and the crimes he committed against them, while the conman appeared unperturbed.

Describing Mclaren’s highly systematic way of stealing money and paying it back to previous victims to hide his fraud, Judge Charteris said “to borrow an old saying, he was robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

“One only needs to state the facts (of one of the victims) to understand the devious behaviour,” Judge Charteris said, “He appeared to have no conscience … he preyed on these victims, he had the ability to pressure them to part with their money, he had no empathy for them, he was driven by the main game which was to obtain their money and to spend as he wished.”

McLaren did not flinch when Judge Charteris asked rhetorically, “How could he deceive persons so as to swindle them out of superannuation they had earned during the course of their working lives?”

Judge Charteris cited the case of Peter and Lorraine Cross, who suffered “perhaps the greatest loss” of all the victims, at the hands of McLaren.

Several of Hamish McLaren's victims gathered for the trial. Picture: Adam Yip

McLaren stole over $1 million from Mr and Mrs Cross from the sale of their home and their combined superannuation funds.

“They have no income, no savings and no superannuation to live on, all they have is an outstanding debt from the offender,” Judge Charteris said.

McLaren’s sentence was given a 25 per cent discount on his sentence because he plead guilty at an early stage in the trial.

In a sentence hearing last week, Judge Charteris rejected McLaren’s lawyers idea that the “public shaming” the conman has had because of the media attention should warrant a lesser sentence.

“Shaming him is about the only thing the victims have available to them,” he said, “They have no money and they will go through their lives terribly burdened.”

The next episode of Who the Hell Is Hamish will be released tomorrow at 3pm.