Barefoot Investor: Evil scammer only got six months’ jail

The evil online scammer at the centre of a tragic sextortion plot that led a teenager to suicide was from NSW, not Nigeria, and only got six months in jail, says Scott Pape.

Scott Pape is the Barefoot Investor. Picture: Jason Edwards

I asked my kids what they thought I should write about this week.

“The Melbourne Demons,” said my son.

“Lamb prices,” said my other son (who’s currently bottle-feeding an orphan lamb).

“Chestnuts,” said my youngest son.

“I love you, Dad,” said my only daughter. (I love you too, sweetheart.)

So, let’s talk about chestnuts. Just kidding. Given I didn’t answer any questions last week, my inbox is bursting at the seams, mainly from members of the Greens Party who went bonkers about something I wrote about them a few weeks ago.

So enough of my kids playing in the paddocks – let’s instead kick off this week’s questions by tucking our snouts into the political pigsty.

You’re a Right-Wing Jerk, Barefoot

Hi Scott,

A quick comment on your recent response to Lina (“My best friend thinks I’m scum for owning a home and a share portfolio in my twenties”). We all thought you were a nice guy who cared about people, but you let the Grinch in – you told Lina to keep climbing the ladder of success, leaving her friends in the dust, and stomping on Greens voters like me on her way up. Way to go, you right-wing jerk. Your words matter. The least you could have done is given Lina some idea of how she could share some of her good fortune, by donating to charity for example. But instead you told her it’s OK to be greedy in the face of others’ hardship.

Sincerely, “bitter and twisted Greens voter”, Felicity.

Scott Pape says billions of people living on a few bucks a day see us as the Kardashians. Photo: Jean-Baptiste Lacroix / AFP

Hi Felicity,

Yours was actually one of the nicer Greens emails I got. Lordy, Bob Brown must be turning in his grave!

Now I’ll have you know that I’m on the nose with both the Liberals and Labor for my past comments, and I have it on good authority that Pauline Hanson has a fatwa on me. In other words, I’m an equal opportunity offender.

(My wife, on the other hand, votes for the Greens, though she’s a champagne socialist who’s never walked past a tree she didn’t want to hug.)

Flick, you do sound bitter and twisted: Do you honestly think Lina should feel bad about working hard, saving, and getting ahead in life?

And that she should donate some money to wash away the ‘guilt’ of her hard work?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting off your rump and achieving success… just as long as you don’t believe you’re ‘self-made’.

(Remember, the billions of people living on a few bucks a day see us as the Kardashians. As a nation we’re not particularly productive, and we mainly get by because we’ve got natural assets the rest of the world desperately wants to get their hands on.)

Look, no one should have to apologise for their success. What ultimately matters isn’t the size of your bank balance but that you’re a kind, considerate and empathetic person. And in that sense I think it’s you who has the problem.

You’re green with envy!

Call the Cops

Scott,

Do you have any advice for me regarding a neighbour (lady, 60s) telling me she is selling her house and car to move to America to marry a US army soldier? They haven’t met yet because he is in Damascus after being shot and he can’t fly yet. She assures me she has done due diligence by calling the Pentagon?! It’s all so suss, but not really any of my business. Should I alert the police?

Jane

The reasons we’re having so many scams is that we have an epidemic of loneliness.

Hi Jane,

One of the reasons we’re having so many scams is that we have an epidemic of loneliness. You can order everything online… you don’t have to go to the shops and talk to anyone. You don’t have to go to a bank branch and talk to a teller: there’s an app for that – and for everything else.

Yet we all need basic human connection and to feel like we’re part of a community. Not Mark Zuckerberg’s idea of a community, where his AI algorithm controls and monetises everything (and stirs up hate and emotion to keep you engaged), but genuine community. Like when your neighbours feed your cat if you’re away, or notice that you’re sick and make you some soup.

Now let’s just say you were doing the dishes and you looked out your window and saw a masked burglar jumping through your neighbour’s back window to ransack her house.

Would you call the cops?

Of course you would!

So here’s my advice. Knock on her door. Have a cup of coffee. Take some time. Give her the warmth and connection she’s very likely craving. Little by little talk her round. It may work out to be the highlight of your year. After all, how often do you get a chance to be a genuine hero and catch a baddie?

About Last Week

Hi Scott,

It was pretty hard to read, it broke my heart, but definitely the most important subject you’ve ever written about. Two minutes after I read it, I sat down with my 15-year-old son and had a conversation around everything you covered in your column.

We now have a contract in place about phone usage and online safety. We also have an understanding that if something happens in his online world that he’s worried or unsure about then he can come to me or his mum with no Judgement attached.

Thank you, Scott, and thank you also to Wayne for allowing Scott to share something so personal. Please know that Mac’s legacy is so important and profound.

Much love,

Barry

Wayne Holdsworth lost his sone Mac to suicide after he fell victim to an online sextortion plot. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Barry,

Last week’s column on Mac Holdsworth got a humungous response from Barefooters all over the world. Thank you to all the parents, like you, who wrote to me.

But there’s more to the story...

I gave Mac’s father, Wayne, a call this week to check in and see how he was doing, and he shared a heartbreaking insight:

The night Mac was extorted they went to the local police station to report it. The cops thanked them but explained that he was likely overseas and that it was “pretty much impossible to track him down”.

Case closed.

Yet three days later a detective contacted Wayne.

“We’ve got some good news”, he announced.

“We’ve tracked the bloke down, and we’ve charged him.”

It turned out the scammer wasn’t from Nigeria… but from NSW.

Now tragically Mac took his life before the scammer could be brought to justice. Yet there was no way in the world Wayne was going to miss that court case. He’d written his own victim impact statement and was ready and raring to go:

“I just wanted to stare the prick down and tell him the devastation he’d caused.”

Wayne stood in the courtroom and watched the man appear.

“How do you plead?” the magistrate asked the scammer.

“Guilty… but I am the victim here,” he added without a hint of remorse.

Wayne started shivering and shaking uncontrollably.

The police detective Wayne was sitting with gently grabbed his hand for comfort, and said, “You’re going to be okay mate, we’ll get through this together”.

What Wayne didn’t know was that the scammer had struck a deal and was able to plead for a lesser crime, ‘receiving proceeds of a crime’.

And the verdict?

He copped six months in the slot… and he’s already out.

“There is no doubt in my mind that, right now, he’s extorting kids,” Wayne tells me.

And you know what? I think Wayne is right.

There are evil people in the world.

And it’s our job as parents to make sure our kids never meet them.

Tread Your Own Path!

DISCLAIMER: Information and opinions provided in this column are general in nature and have been prepared for educational purposes only. Always seek personal financial advice tailored to your specific needs before making financial and investment decisions.

Originally published as Barefoot Investor: Evil scammer only got six months’ jail