How an Australian mother and son lost $200,000 to an investment scam
A mother and son preparing to build and move into a dual occupancy home lost the $200,000 they needed to a sophisticated investment scam.
A mother and son preparing to build and move into a dual occupancy home lost the $200,000 they needed to a sophisticated investment scam.
Mark Uytendaal and his mother, Kerry, bought a 3,000sqm property near Lakes Entrance in eastern Victoria to build a home they could share as Ms Uytendaals care needs increased.
Mr Uytendaal now lives in a shed on the property alone.
The pair lost a combined $200,000 after investing their life savings into what they believed to be a term deposit with financial giant AMP.
Instead, their hard-earned cash was transferred to scammers.
Mr Uytendaal and his mother are two plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit in the NSW Supreme Court against Hassan Mehdi, the founder of the allegedly fraudulent company Supercheap Security.
The pair were first exposed to the scam in mid-2022 when Ms Uytendaal searched for the best interest rates online.
It was there she discovered what she thought was a product comparison website with information from AMP.
Mark Uytendaal and his mother, Kerry (pictured together), lost $200,000 to an investment scam in 2022
Shortly after using the website, Ms Uytendaal received a phone call from a scammer pretending to be an AMP employee.
Alongside the call, she was sent several fraudulent emails that appeared to be sent from AMP.
Some of the subject lines included account verification and funding information while the messages contained fake AMP signatures, logos and slogans.
A man phoned me with this English accent, and then he sent me all these papers, which all looked like AMP papers, Ms Uytendaal told the Sydney Morning Herald.
This all took about probably 10 days until he finally got me to transfer the money, and he didnt harass me at all.
Ms Uytendaal was offered a term deposit was a good interest rate and transferred $100,000 into the newly-created AMP account.
She then told her son of the deal and he transferred an additional $100,000 into the account.
Little did the pair know, their life savings were actually deposited into the bank account of Supercheap Security and transferred overseas.
They had no idea they had been scammed until several months later.
The horrible reality of their situation only set in when another victim who lost $500,000, Joanne OBrien, messaged Mr Uytendaal on Facebook.
A fourth plaintiff in the lawsuit, Judy Fleiter, lost $175,000.
The scammers sent Ms Uytendaal a series of emails (one pictured) about a term deposit while pretending to be AMP employees
The two men associated with Supercheap Security are Melbourne-based Hassan Mehdi, originally from Pakistan and Ali Waheed, who allegedly evaded legal action by leaving Australia and is believed to be in the Middle East.
Mehdi created the company in 2021, claiming it was for selling security equipment online,
However, Supercheap Securitys records show it has only made one transaction, worth $152.96, on May 5, 2022.
It remains a registered business in Australia, according to ASIC records.
Mehdi has not disputed the money was fraudulently taken from the plaintiffs, including Mr and Ms Uytendaal, but instead claims he was duped by his friend, Waheed.
He alleged he gave Waheed control of Supercheap Security before any fraud was committed and did not learn of the crimes until later.
I am treated as second defendant, even though I was also deceived by a close friend whom I have helped since he arrived in Australia, Mehdi said during cross-examination, the outlet reported.
However, Justice Scott Nixon found a Supercheap bank account used by Waheed to transfer money to Asia and the Middle East was originally created by Mehdi with urgency.
Justice Nixon concluded Mehdi acted dishonestly by wilfully and recklessly failing to find out Waheeds true motivation for acquiring the business.
Further, the judge found Mehdi turned a blind eye to how the account he created was being used, possibly in order to absolve himself of any criminal charges.
Mehdi was initially criminally charged over the fraud but the charges were dropped due to the prosecution having a weak case against him.
He did admit to the civil court that he deleted his WhatsApp message history with Waheed after being released from custody in 2022.
At that time, civil proceedings against him had already begun.
Justice Nixon ordered Mehdi to repay the Uytendaals their $200,000 but the pair are hesitant to believe theyll get their money back as Mehdi told the court he would need to be declared bankrupt.
Mr Uytendaal left his position at a commercial seed company in the hopes of starting his own business shortly before he was scammed.
Some days, you just want to stay in bed and not talk to anyone or see anyone after what weve been through, he said.
What these people have done is disgusting.
Mr Uytendaal vowed he will never use online financial services again.
The AFP-led Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre found Australians lost at least $382million to investment scams in the 2023-2024 financial year.
The pair lost a combined $200,000 after they were duped by scammers (stock image)
As scams are often an underreported crime, the true amount lost is likely much higher.
One factor that contributes to the lack of scam reporting is the embarrassment victims often feel for falling for schemes.
However, Ms Uytendaal reassured victims it can happen to anyone.
