High-end real estate agents are plagued by fake buyers, who even make them taste pool water or fraudulently occupy private islands to use as sex traps.
The rise in the number of fictitious buyers has led the agent handling the sale of Melissa Caddick’s Sydney mansion to demand a $10,000 deposit from those who want to inspect it.
Sydney buyer’s agent Simon Cohen, who sells high-end property to an elite and usually low-key clientele, said a bogus buyer had gone far enough to get him to tell a member of staff poor to taste the pool water to see if it was from the sea..
Those wishing to inspect the $10million Sydney estate of runaway conwoman Melissa Caddick will have to pay a refundable $10,000 to do so
The woman, whom Mr Cohen described as a blonde-haired Audi driver in her 40s, had come to see him on the recommendation of a banker, who told her she was looking for a property in the £30 price range. millions of dollars.
It later turned out that she had tricked the banker, possibly as she had initially with Mr. Cohen, with fabricated stories that she had just picked up matching black and white Porsches from a well-known dealership. known.
Upmarket real estate agent Simon Cohen was so enamored with a fake buyer that he asked a member of staff to taste the pool water at a luxury property to please the fraudster.
Mr Cohen showed the woman five properties, and the one she chose was a waterfront home in the exclusive northern Sydney suburb of Mosman.
Contracts were drawn up as the woman went into all the details of the house, including the pool taste test.
The scam only came to light when the $3million deposit never made it to the agent’s account, despite the woman forging a transfer receipt from Macquarie Bank for the amount .
“I don’t know if it was a scam or mental illness,” Mr Cohen told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“She wanted to think she was a $30 million buyer. If it was a scam, I don’t know what the scam was.
Notorious con artist David Ashworth, often known as David Otto, fraudulently took possession of a private island where he attempted to lure women for group sex.
Sometimes scams have a very specific and dark purpose.
Richard Vanhoff, who specializes in selling private islands, fell victim to serial con artist David Ashworth, known as David Otto.
Although he never paid the $5,000 deposit, Ashworth took temporary possession of Temple Island and used the pretense of being a music industry heavyweight to lure young women there to group sex.
The property where Caddick disappeared from while being investigated for financial fraud in 2020 is being sold
Luxury real estate agents say there seems to be a commensurate increase in the number of fake buyers of luxury properties.
The Agency’s Ben Collier told the Sydney Morning Herald he had dealt with around six this year.
“I’ve never seen so many predators before,” Collier said.
“They even go one step further and in some cases buy a pest and building inspection report, or book attorneys’ fees on contracts and use buyer’s agents.”
Other agents believe that the total number has not increased, but with fewer genuine buyers, fraudsters have become more harmful.
Cassandra Cross, associate professor of justice at Queensland University of Technology, said the fake buyers wanted to project an image of status and wealth.
Sometimes it was for personal needs, but it could also be used as part of a sting to trick a victim into giving them money.
She said the forgeries committed, whether they do it for personal gain or to satisfy psychological urges, were the ones who spent the money on the process, not just the nosy neighbors or the sticklers who like to go to the property inspections.
Veteran luxury real estate agent Bill Malouf says real buyers don’t have to try to impress with ostentatious shows of wealth
It’s perhaps in an attempt to deter these guys that a refundable $10,000 deposit is being asked of those who want to inspect Caddick’s lavish $10 million property in the exclusive seaside suburb of Dover Heights, East London. east of Sydney.
Caddick disappeared from the property on November 12, 2020 while being investigated for financial fraud.
Human remains found washed up on a beach on the south coast of New South Wales in February 2021 have been identified as his.
A veteran Sydney luxury market agent, Bill Malouf, has come across many fakes and scammers, but he has a tip that might help those a little less experienced.
“They may look badly dressed and barefoot, but what legitimate shoppers won’t do is point out their wealth and name the type of car they drive,” he said. told the Sydney Morning Herald.
