‘You don’t expect your own children to do this’: How a son stole over $230,000 from his 78 yo father
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Financial safeguards are meant to offer protection and peace of mind—especially for those in vulnerable situations.
But what happens when the very systems designed to protect us fall short?
What unfolded was a deeply personal story that highlights the emotional and financial toll of elder abuse—and the devastating consequences of a failure in oversight.
At 65, Ray Baird asked his son Peter for help navigating the banking system.
Over the next nine years, that help spiralled into a calculated, deeply personal scam that cost Ray more than $230,000—including seven years of aged pension payments totalling $152,423.33.
Peter gained access to Ray’s bank accounts, redirected his Centrelink pension into his own account, and took out debts in Ray’s name that resulted in two caveats being placed on Ray’s Melbourne home.
The fraud was so elaborate that Peter even impersonated politicians and government officials in fake phone calls, and once sent Ray a forged letter supposedly from then-Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to reassure him about the vanishing funds.
Ray was in his seventies when the scheme began to unravel and the truth about his son’s betrayal surfaced.
This was the first time he had shared his experience publicly, at the age of 78.
An investigation featured Ray’s ordeal, highlighting how widespread and devastating elder financial abuse has become—most often committed by adult children.
Robert Fitzgerald, the age discrimination commissioner, said: ‘[Ray’s] story is tragic in every way but it is very common…We know for certain that financial abuse is growing … and, tragically, the vast majority of that abuse is within the family.’
Peter, who was in his forties when the fraud began, first stepped in to help his father after Ray’s credit card was stolen while overseas in 2011.
Ray, a retired French polisher and coffin-maker, was not familiar with digital technology and had relied on Peter to set up his MyGov account—something he never accessed himself.
Ray said: ‘My age group, we’re very naive about, you know, technical communication and all that sort of stuff…It’s not what we grew up on.’
Soon after gaining access, Peter changed Ray’s Centrelink bank account details to his own.
Peter was later convicted on three counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception for the theft of more than $230,000—comprising both pension payments and loans.
These debts triggered serious financial consequences for Ray, including caveats on his home in Rowville.
Julie Del Pra, a financial counsellor at Each who worked with Ray, said: ‘I have not seen the lengths that the son went to in this to defraud their own father, in the full knowledge of the poverty that he was leaving his dad in.’
The scam included regular phone calls from Peter impersonating various officials who claimed to be investigating Ray’s situation.
Ray nearly sought answers from the bank or Centrelink multiple times, but Peter always managed to talk him out of it.
Ray said: ‘Many a time I said, “Come clean, is there something going on with the bank account, just tell me so we can sort it.” He would turn around and say, “On mum’s grave there’s nothing going on.”’
Peter’s deception was exposed in 2020 when he was jailed for 18 other fraud offences—Ray’s name appeared in the judgement, prompting him to contact his local MP.
That call revealed the MP had never spoken to him before, and with his daughter’s help, Ray pieced together the full extent of the betrayal.
He went to the police, and Peter was charged and later sentenced to four years in prison, though most of that time was served concurrently with his prior sentence.
In court, Justice Frank Gucciardo described Peter’s crimes as ‘reprehensible’ and said they ‘defy decency’.
The judge noted that Peter did not suffer from addiction or come from a violent background, and was motivated by a need ‘to present as a man with money’.
Ray secured an intervention order preventing Peter from contacting him after Peter’s release from prison.
Ray endured eight years without access to his pension or bank account.
His wife supported them by working seven days a week.
Ray picked up casual work as a cricket umpire and salvaged discarded furniture to repair and sell on social media.
He said: ‘I’m very embarrassed about this even now.’
Peter sometimes ‘lent’ Ray money for small expenses, but it was stolen pension money all along.
The emotional toll was immense—Ray battled anxiety, depression and isolation, and couldn’t afford to see friends.
It strained his family relationships, particularly with his daughter, who suspected Peter’s wrongdoing.
They have since reconciled and she worked tirelessly to sort out the damage.
Ray became emotional while telling his story, saying: ‘Later on, I’ll go home and think I’ve got that off my chest…You know, you can’t bottle that up.’
He hoped speaking out would break the stigma: ‘You don’t expect your own children to do this… when it’s your own children that is just the lowest thing that can happen.’
The fraud was facilitated by a flaw in how Services Australia handled changes to payment details.
Ray argued that Centrelink failed to verify that his pension was redirected to an account not in his name.
He lodged a compensation claim citing ‘defective administration’, but Centrelink rejected it.
Their justification was that since Peter logged in with the correct credentials, they were not liable.
Paul Were, a lawyer from Eastern Community Legal Centre who supported Ray, said: ‘They didn’t go back to Ray and say, “Do you actually want this money paid into your son’s account?”’
Services Australia maintained that their systems required a declaration that the account belonged to the customer, but they could not verify account names with banks.
Fitzgerald pointed out that financial abuse often began with adult children offering help.
He said: ‘Most financial abuse starts off by a member of the family saying, “I’m going to help you.”’
He added that while not every adult child helping a parent should be seen with suspicion, ‘the truth of the matter is, we now know the risk factors exist, and we can identify what they might be.’
The 2021 national elder abuse prevalence study found one in six people over 65 had experienced elder abuse in the prior year.
Children were the most common perpetrators of every type of abuse except sexual.
Del Pra said: ‘Our government systems are not set up to protect vulnerable people…Therefore they’re exploited to cause harm.’
She added: ‘The government knows their systems are causing harm… Now, the onus is on the government to act.’
Ray’s case has reignited calls for financial institutions and government agencies to introduce stronger protections for older Australians.
Watch the video below to learn more.
Source: Youtube/Guardian Australia
With so many older Australians relying on family for support, how can we better protect them from financial betrayal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
But what happens when the very systems designed to protect us fall short?
What unfolded was a deeply personal story that highlights the emotional and financial toll of elder abuse—and the devastating consequences of a failure in oversight.
At 65, Ray Baird asked his son Peter for help navigating the banking system.
Over the next nine years, that help spiralled into a calculated, deeply personal scam that cost Ray more than $230,000—including seven years of aged pension payments totalling $152,423.33.
Peter gained access to Ray’s bank accounts, redirected his Centrelink pension into his own account, and took out debts in Ray’s name that resulted in two caveats being placed on Ray’s Melbourne home.
Elder abuse exposes shocking betrayal by his own son. Image source: Christopher Hopkins/The Guardian
The fraud was so elaborate that Peter even impersonated politicians and government officials in fake phone calls, and once sent Ray a forged letter supposedly from then-Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to reassure him about the vanishing funds.
Ray was in his seventies when the scheme began to unravel and the truth about his son’s betrayal surfaced.
This was the first time he had shared his experience publicly, at the age of 78.
An investigation featured Ray’s ordeal, highlighting how widespread and devastating elder financial abuse has become—most often committed by adult children.
Robert Fitzgerald, the age discrimination commissioner, said: ‘[Ray’s] story is tragic in every way but it is very common…We know for certain that financial abuse is growing … and, tragically, the vast majority of that abuse is within the family.’
Peter, who was in his forties when the fraud began, first stepped in to help his father after Ray’s credit card was stolen while overseas in 2011.
Ray, a retired French polisher and coffin-maker, was not familiar with digital technology and had relied on Peter to set up his MyGov account—something he never accessed himself.
Ray said: ‘My age group, we’re very naive about, you know, technical communication and all that sort of stuff…It’s not what we grew up on.’
Soon after gaining access, Peter changed Ray’s Centrelink bank account details to his own.
Peter was later convicted on three counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception for the theft of more than $230,000—comprising both pension payments and loans.
These debts triggered serious financial consequences for Ray, including caveats on his home in Rowville.
Julie Del Pra, a financial counsellor at Each who worked with Ray, said: ‘I have not seen the lengths that the son went to in this to defraud their own father, in the full knowledge of the poverty that he was leaving his dad in.’
The scam included regular phone calls from Peter impersonating various officials who claimed to be investigating Ray’s situation.
Ray nearly sought answers from the bank or Centrelink multiple times, but Peter always managed to talk him out of it.
Ray said: ‘Many a time I said, “Come clean, is there something going on with the bank account, just tell me so we can sort it.” He would turn around and say, “On mum’s grave there’s nothing going on.”’
Peter’s deception was exposed in 2020 when he was jailed for 18 other fraud offences—Ray’s name appeared in the judgement, prompting him to contact his local MP.
That call revealed the MP had never spoken to him before, and with his daughter’s help, Ray pieced together the full extent of the betrayal.
He went to the police, and Peter was charged and later sentenced to four years in prison, though most of that time was served concurrently with his prior sentence.
In court, Justice Frank Gucciardo described Peter’s crimes as ‘reprehensible’ and said they ‘defy decency’.
The judge noted that Peter did not suffer from addiction or come from a violent background, and was motivated by a need ‘to present as a man with money’.
Ray secured an intervention order preventing Peter from contacting him after Peter’s release from prison.
Ray endured eight years without access to his pension or bank account.
His wife supported them by working seven days a week.
Ray picked up casual work as a cricket umpire and salvaged discarded furniture to repair and sell on social media.
He said: ‘I’m very embarrassed about this even now.’
Peter sometimes ‘lent’ Ray money for small expenses, but it was stolen pension money all along.
The emotional toll was immense—Ray battled anxiety, depression and isolation, and couldn’t afford to see friends.
It strained his family relationships, particularly with his daughter, who suspected Peter’s wrongdoing.
They have since reconciled and she worked tirelessly to sort out the damage.
Ray became emotional while telling his story, saying: ‘Later on, I’ll go home and think I’ve got that off my chest…You know, you can’t bottle that up.’
He hoped speaking out would break the stigma: ‘You don’t expect your own children to do this… when it’s your own children that is just the lowest thing that can happen.’
The fraud was facilitated by a flaw in how Services Australia handled changes to payment details.
Ray argued that Centrelink failed to verify that his pension was redirected to an account not in his name.
He lodged a compensation claim citing ‘defective administration’, but Centrelink rejected it.
Their justification was that since Peter logged in with the correct credentials, they were not liable.
Paul Were, a lawyer from Eastern Community Legal Centre who supported Ray, said: ‘They didn’t go back to Ray and say, “Do you actually want this money paid into your son’s account?”’
Services Australia maintained that their systems required a declaration that the account belonged to the customer, but they could not verify account names with banks.
Fitzgerald pointed out that financial abuse often began with adult children offering help.
He said: ‘Most financial abuse starts off by a member of the family saying, “I’m going to help you.”’
He added that while not every adult child helping a parent should be seen with suspicion, ‘the truth of the matter is, we now know the risk factors exist, and we can identify what they might be.’
The 2021 national elder abuse prevalence study found one in six people over 65 had experienced elder abuse in the prior year.
Children were the most common perpetrators of every type of abuse except sexual.
Del Pra said: ‘Our government systems are not set up to protect vulnerable people…Therefore they’re exploited to cause harm.’
She added: ‘The government knows their systems are causing harm… Now, the onus is on the government to act.’
Ray’s case has reignited calls for financial institutions and government agencies to introduce stronger protections for older Australians.
Watch the video below to learn more.
Source: Youtube/Guardian Australia
With so many older Australians relying on family for support, how can we better protect them from financial betrayal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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