A 53-year-old woman posing as a feng shui teacher and clairvoyant has been arrested on charges of organizing a criminal scheme that defrauded multiple vulnerable clients out of millions of dollars, Australian police said today, quoted by DPA, BTA reported.
The woman is alleged to have “taken advantage of vulnerable clients in the Vietnamese community by convincing them to take out loans, herself taking a share, based on her prediction that a “billionaire” was in their future,“New South Wales police said.
A 25-year-old woman has also been arrested and charged with aiding the scheme, which amounted to 70 million Australian dollars (46 million US dollars), according to police estimates.
The two women were arrested yesterday at an address in Sydney, where police also seized “financial documents, mobile phones, other electronics, luxury handbags, a 40-gram gold bar worth $10,000 and $6,600 in casino chips“.
The 53-year-old woman has been charged with 39 offences, including intentionally participating in the activities of a criminal group, dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage and intentionally using the proceeds of crime with intent to conceal.
The younger woman was charged with offences including dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage and recklessly handling the proceeds of crime with intent to conceal.
Their arrests are part of a wider investigation into a multi-million dollar fraud and money laundering syndicate operating in Sydney, which has already led to charges being laid against 17 people.
“What started as an investigation into fraudulent car financing has expanded to uncover one of the most complex financial crime syndicates I have seen in my career as head of the Financial Crimes Unit“, said senior police officer Gordon Arbigna.
“Our detectives worked tirelessly to uncover a network that not only targeted financial institutions but also manipulated vulnerable individuals for personal gain,“ Arbigna added.