Fraudster who described older people’s super funds as ‘the ultimate jackpot’ pleads guilty
A Melbourne woman involved in an international syndicate to defraud millions of dollars from Australian superannuation accounts described older people as the ultimate jackpot.
Jasmine Vella-Arpaci, 24, is the only conspirator to have been charged over the fraud, which led to the group obtaining more than $3m from superannuation accounts and $238,000 from share trading.
They also attempted to obtain $1.8m from super funds and $5.7m in shares.
More than $2.5m was then laundered through Hong Kong, with VellaArpaci receiving a cut in cryptocurrency.
She pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two charges of conspiracy to defraud over separate superannuation and share trading frauds, and to conspiring to deal in proceeds of crime.
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She and co-conspirators traded identification documents on the dark web, and created phishing websites and Google ads purporting to be login sites for superannuation funds, with the intention of obtaining member login details.
They opened bank accounts using stolen identification documents and then gained access to superannuation and share trading accounts, withdrawing funds and depositing them in the newly opened accounts.
Contact details were changed to leave victims in the dark.
Debit cards for the new accounts were sent to false addresses and to co-conspirators in Hong Kong, where people were recruited to use them to launder the proceeds.
Vella-Arpaci was arrested at Melbourne airport in April 2019 after returning from a trip to Turkey.
Her role in the conspiracy was significant, Victorian county court judge Fiona Todd was told during a presentence hearing.
She used the dark web to buy login details, targeting businesses with admin, HR or bookkeeper usernames, in the hope they would give her access to superannuation account details and identification documents.
Vella-Arpaci described accounts for those at the age of eligibility for access as the “ultimate jackpot”.
Police found 1,400 documents on her seized computer, including passports, drivers licences, debit cards and Medicare cards.
She admitted manipulating identification documents to change names or dates of birth then stamping them with a false certification stamp.
While she was in Turkey, VellaArpaci recruited someone to fill her role, leaving instructions on her computer on how to collect debit cards from vacant properties to be sent on to Hong Kong.
She recommended dressing “semidecent” and wearing sunglasses as a disguise, going mid-afternoon when people were still at work or collecting kids from school, and abandoning the mission if it looked “red hot”.
Vella-Arpaci also advised wearing gloves when handling documents.
“Always take your time to do it right – a day in the post is less than a life sentence,” she said.
The hearing is continuing.