It all started from just one phone call.
Tony Camilleri was one of our most successful and respected architects, but in 2011, he nevertheless found himself reeling and overworked in the wake of the global financial crisis.
It meant that when he received a cold call offering what seemed like an ideal investment opportunity, his interest was piqued more than usual.
“He said it was a Chicago-based company named Smith and Olson and that they were trying to expand their business into the South Pacific region and looking for investors there,” Tony explained on the podcast Anatomy of a Scam.
Phone calls continued back and forth, small investments gradually became larger, and before long Tony had invested almost the entirety of his superannuation fund: $1.8 million.
Smith and Olson’s website was professional, their spokespeople on the other end of the line even more so, and the promised returns on his investment were dizzying – over $5 million.
Buzzing with excitement and gratitude, Tony flew to Chicago, eager to meet the man who had made him so much money.
When he turned up to their office building, his world came crashing down.
His trusted investment partners were nowhere to be found.
Tony had fallen victim to an investment scam.
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