A self-proclaimed fortune teller and her assistant have been charged with duping vulnerable clients of tens of millions of dollars in a highly sophisticated fraud and money-laundering syndicate.
A 53-year-old and a 25-year-old were arrested at a home in Dover Heights in Sydney's east on Wednesday morning when specialist police raided the property.
The older woman, who claimed to be a feng shui master and fortune teller, allegedly exploited vulnerable clients by persuading them to take out financial loans based on predicting there was a "billionaire" in their future, while taking a share for herself.
The fraud, allegedly orchestrated by the older woman with help from the younger woman, is estimated to total nearly $70 million.
Police seized financial documents, mobile phones, other electronics, luxury handbags, a 40-gram gold bar worth $10,000 and $6600 in casino chips.
The NSW Crime Commission froze an additional $15 million worth of assets, bringing the total amount of assets linked to the syndicate seized to $75 million.
The older woman has been charged with 39 offences, including knowingly direct activities of criminal group, dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception, knowingly deal with proceeds of crime intent to conceal and deal with identity info to commit indictable offence.
The younger woman was charged with dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception, deal with identity info to commit indictable offence, and participate criminal group contribute criminal activity.
