A Victorian man has been charged after allegedly deceiving his family into believing he had cancer, leading them to give him more than $1 million.
Police say the scheme began when the man used money from the sale of his family home in Alfredton, Ballarat, without informing his partner. To cover up the missing funds, he claimed to have made a $2 million investment. When the money from this supposed investment never materialized, he fabricated a story about having cancer and being scammed.
The man allegedly created fake email accounts and impersonated two lawyers to support his claims. Authorities say he tricked his family into handing over an additional $1.2 million. Detectives also allege he used a fraudulent document to obtain a car worth $69,830 from a Horsham dealership.
The 30-year-old man from Western Australia was arrested in Ararat on July 8, 2024. Following a lengthy investigation, he has been charged with 28 offences, including 20 counts of obtaining property by deception and 13 counts of making false documents. He is due to appear in Horsham Magistrates’ Court on 25th of June
