Financial Crimes Squad detectives have charged a man in relation to a series of financial transactions that resulted in the accused fraudulently obtaining more than $2.5million from one victim.
An investigation into the unexplained wealth of a Dianella man resulted in him being arrested by detectives from the Financial Crimes Squad at a casino on Thursday 19 December 2019.
It will be alleged between June 2017 and November 2019 the accused borrowed amounts of money from the victim under false pretences. The loan amounts varied between $1,000 and $200,000, with the total amount of money fraudulently obtained being $2,596,000. To date the victim had only been repaid $41,000.
It will be further alleged the accused used the money to attend a casino on a regular basis, and that all of the money had been lost through that gambling activity. The victim had loaned the accused the money based on proposed business opportunities that were presented to him, however it will be alleged those business opportunities did not exist, and the associated paperwork was fraudulent.
The accused and the victim did not have a personal relationship with each other, however knew of each other through a religious congregation made up of members from across the Perth area.
A 38-year-old man from Dianella has been charged with 88 counts of ‘Gains Benefit by Fraud’. He was refused bail and appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court on Friday 20 December 2019. He is next due to appear in the same court on Friday 17 January 2019.
A WA Police Force spokesperson said the victim in this matter has been left in serious financial trouble.
“The victim trusted the financial arrangements he was entering into were legitimate, and made that assessment based on material presented to him that turned out to be fraudulent. He and his wife have now lost their savings, which they were going to rely on in their retirement.
“Based on information obtained during the investigation we are continuing to investigate whether other people may have been approached in similar circumstances. We encourage anyone who believes they may be the victim of fraudulent loan arrangements to contact Police on 131 444 and provide the details so we can investigate.”
