How an alarming scam conned a vulnerable Aussie woman out of her $300,000 life savings
A vulnerable woman whose mother mysteriously disappeared when she was just 10 years old has revealed how heartless scammers made off with her $300,000 life savings.
A vulnerable woman whose mother mysteriously disappeared when she was just 10 years old has revealed how heartless scammers made off with her $300,000 life savings.
Chrystal Winfield is the daughter of Bronwyn Winfield, who disappeared from her Lennox Head home in northern NSW after tucking her two children Lauren and Chrystal - then aged five and 10 - into bed on May 16, 1993.
Ms Winfield, now 41, was cruelly conned to hand over money she had planned to build a house to live in with her son when she met a man on a Sydney street who pretended to run a charity in India.
She recalled the man described himself as a soul doctor who promised he could help lift a curse on her life.
Before long Ms Winfield had made a donation to the mans charity and later allowed members of the mans group to bless her cash savings and her phone.
Im usually pretty good with intuition, she told news.com.au. I got that completely wrong. I was very vulnerable.
Eventually, still trusting the man and his charity, Ms Winfield agreed to buy $200,000 in gold bullion, bringing the cash to a meeting in a box.
But the scammers managed to switch boxes while she was distracted, making off with her savings and leaving her holding another box filled with concrete and paper.
Ms Winfield, 41, was cruelly conned to hand over money she had planned to build a house to live in with her son
Why was I so silly? I genuinely thought they were nice people, Ms Winfield said.
I was genuinely happy to help them with their charity.
But not my whole life savings that Id set aside for my life and my son.
Adding to her frustration is the fact a NSW Police investigation into the alleged scam proved fruitless.
Its understood no CCTV exists of Ms Winfields interactions with the group and communications between them were conducted through encrypted WhatsApp messages.
Police investigations discovered phone numbers used to scam Ms Winfield were registered to addresses in Western and South Australia.
Ms Winfield is the daughter of Bronwyn Winfield, who disappeared from her Lennox Head home in northern NSW after tucking her two children - then aged five and 10 - into bed on May 16, 1993 and has never been seen again
An email seen by news.com.au suggested NSW detectives had investigated 11 similar incidents in the Cabramatta area over the course of 2023 and 2024.
Friends of a shattered Ms Winfield have now rallied to help restore her finances through a fundraising effort.
Childhood friend and Gofundme organiser Rennie Fletcher said Ms Winfield had revealed she had been conned during a catch-up with old schoolfriends aware of her vulnerability because of the renewed interest created by a popular podcast about the disappearance of her mother.
We were appalled that someone would take advantage of Chrystals vulnerability, and so we decided to do something about it, Mr Fletcher said.
He said Ms Winfield was known for her kindness to others despite the trauma she had experienced early in life.
For her part, Ms Winfield said she was moved by the support of her friends.
Its not about the money; its just the thought that somebody would do that for me.
A 2002 coronial inquest found that Ms Winfield died at the time of her disappearance.
Bronwyn Winfield pictured with two children Lauren and Chrystal before her disappearance
The inquest also stated a known person should be charged with her death and that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should consider prosecuting her estranged husband, Jonathan.
Mr Winfield has always denied any wrongdoing in Bronwyns disappearance and the DPP has declined to prosecute him due to insufficient evidence.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Mr Winfield had any role in his wifes disappearance.
In 2010, police offered a $100,000 reward for information that would help solve the mystery.
