'Expertly manipulated’: How a 70-year-old Gold Coast woman was convicted of laundering $400k through romance scams
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Seniors, as much as we love the online world, we need to be aware of the risks and scams that come with it — especially regarding our finances.
A 70-year-old woman from Queensland was recently convicted of recklessly laundering $400,000 after getting entangled in a romance scam.
That’s right —- she was essentially charged with being a scam victim but there’s a lot more to the story…
Elizabeth met John Hill online in 2017 and developed a relationship with him.
Elizabeth never met John, who claimed he lived overseas. Despite that, she eventually disclosed her bank details and noticed money entering her account.
She was curious where the money was coming from, but it appeared nothing came of asking John.
The favours escalated to him asking her to use the money to purchase Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, and telling her to pass on the reference codes to him afterwards.
In 2020, authorities were able to link Elizabeth’s account to those of eight other women and at least two businesses that were also targeted by romance scams.
The women shared similar stories of being asked to deposit to what turned out to be Elizabeth’s account over various, unspecified reasons.
They even revealed that they were told Elizabeth was an associate (even a lawyer in one instance) when they noticed who the money was being given to.
Police also told Elizabeth via a notice that she should stop her account from receiving the scam money as it was already a crime.
According to reports, she did not listen. Between May and October of that year, Elizabeth received around $408,000 in illicit money.
And in December 2020, she was arrested and charged with reckless laundering.
‘Reckless’ means Elizabeth knew that the money potentially came from illegal sources in the eyes of the law.
On Wednesday, just two years after she was charged, Elizabeth pleaded guilty to one count of the crime despite being found not to benefit from the money.
‘It is an example of an elderly, lonely woman who'd never been in a loving, caring relationship romantically in her life, who obviously seemed desperate to find that,’ her barrister said.
‘And that was what was so expertly manipulated and used against her to the point where she ignored things that were patently unlikely to be accurate or true.’
‘That's how she became, essentially, to be used as a conduit in respect of other women who had fallen for a similar ruse.’
The point was not lost on the judge assigned to the case, who sentenced Elizabeth to two and a half years imprisonment.
Her sentence was then wholly suspended for three years.
‘It's perhaps emblematic of the characteristic of the human condition — loneliness is a very powerful force,’ the judge pointed out.
‘Otherwise, the foolishness or naivety of her committing these offences after having been served with a notice almost beggars belief.’
The judge also stressed that Elizabeth ‘recklessly facilitated’ the ‘fairly large’ fraudulent act she was involved in.
‘It is important that this kind of assistance of organised crime, which is what it was, must be denounced in the strongest terms.’
‘It's conceded… you did not personally profit. You were manipulated by someone who is at least part of an organised crime syndicate.’
In 2022, Australians lost $40.7 million to dating and romance scams, with 54.4 per cent of victims male, 43.5 per cent female, and 2.1 per cent identifying as neither or refusing to disclose their gender.
Most of the scams were delivered through digital means such as mobile apps, social media, and emails.
Seniors aged over 65 comprise the largest demographic in terms of the amount lost to dating and romance scams at $12.9 million.
We’ve already shared pointers on how to spot dating and romance scams and how to avoid being a target — you can read more about it here!
We urge all our members to be extra careful regarding online activities, including dating.
Unfortunately, some criminals aren’t above using the human need for connection for their gain.
In the meantime, you might want to head to our Scam Watch forum to be updated on the latest scams. Have you heard of one targeting Woolworths?
So, what are your thoughts on this story? Do you find Elizabeth’s actions unbelievable, given the views of her barrister and the judge who handed down her sentence?
Tell us in the comments section below!
A 70-year-old woman from Queensland was recently convicted of recklessly laundering $400,000 after getting entangled in a romance scam.
That’s right —- she was essentially charged with being a scam victim but there’s a lot more to the story…
Elizabeth never met John, who claimed he lived overseas. Despite that, she eventually disclosed her bank details and noticed money entering her account.
She was curious where the money was coming from, but it appeared nothing came of asking John.
The favours escalated to him asking her to use the money to purchase Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, and telling her to pass on the reference codes to him afterwards.
Seventy-year-old Elizabeth’s life changed when she met a man named John online in 2017. Image Credit: Flickr
In 2020, authorities were able to link Elizabeth’s account to those of eight other women and at least two businesses that were also targeted by romance scams.
The women shared similar stories of being asked to deposit to what turned out to be Elizabeth’s account over various, unspecified reasons.
They even revealed that they were told Elizabeth was an associate (even a lawyer in one instance) when they noticed who the money was being given to.
Police also told Elizabeth via a notice that she should stop her account from receiving the scam money as it was already a crime.
According to reports, she did not listen. Between May and October of that year, Elizabeth received around $408,000 in illicit money.
And in December 2020, she was arrested and charged with reckless laundering.
‘Reckless’ means Elizabeth knew that the money potentially came from illegal sources in the eyes of the law.
On Wednesday, just two years after she was charged, Elizabeth pleaded guilty to one count of the crime despite being found not to benefit from the money.
‘It is an example of an elderly, lonely woman who'd never been in a loving, caring relationship romantically in her life, who obviously seemed desperate to find that,’ her barrister said.
‘And that was what was so expertly manipulated and used against her to the point where she ignored things that were patently unlikely to be accurate or true.’
‘That's how she became, essentially, to be used as a conduit in respect of other women who had fallen for a similar ruse.’
By October 2020, authorities found that over $400,000 had been transferred to Elizabeth’s account. Image Credit: Flickr
The point was not lost on the judge assigned to the case, who sentenced Elizabeth to two and a half years imprisonment.
Her sentence was then wholly suspended for three years.
‘It's perhaps emblematic of the characteristic of the human condition — loneliness is a very powerful force,’ the judge pointed out.
‘Otherwise, the foolishness or naivety of her committing these offences after having been served with a notice almost beggars belief.’
The judge also stressed that Elizabeth ‘recklessly facilitated’ the ‘fairly large’ fraudulent act she was involved in.
‘It is important that this kind of assistance of organised crime, which is what it was, must be denounced in the strongest terms.’
‘It's conceded… you did not personally profit. You were manipulated by someone who is at least part of an organised crime syndicate.’
In 2022, Australians lost $40.7 million to dating and romance scams, with 54.4 per cent of victims male, 43.5 per cent female, and 2.1 per cent identifying as neither or refusing to disclose their gender.
Most of the scams were delivered through digital means such as mobile apps, social media, and emails.
Seniors aged over 65 comprise the largest demographic in terms of the amount lost to dating and romance scams at $12.9 million.
We’ve already shared pointers on how to spot dating and romance scams and how to avoid being a target — you can read more about it here!
We urge all our members to be extra careful regarding online activities, including dating.
Unfortunately, some criminals aren’t above using the human need for connection for their gain.
In the meantime, you might want to head to our Scam Watch forum to be updated on the latest scams. Have you heard of one targeting Woolworths?
So, what are your thoughts on this story? Do you find Elizabeth’s actions unbelievable, given the views of her barrister and the judge who handed down her sentence?
Tell us in the comments section below!
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