Professional scammer

He was once known for his ability to lift his team’s spirits when the chips were down, but that quickly changed when Tasmanian footballer Leigh Abbot scammed women he met on Tinder by convincing them to hand over their money or he’d expose sexually explicit photographs they’d sent to him.

Over two years, the 37-year-old, from Glendalough, Tasmania, instilled fear into his victims, claiming he knew members of notorious Aussie bikie gangs, and if they did not comply with his strict demands, they would cause these innocent women great harm. From 2014 to 2016, the professional con artist scammed $157,000 from 12 women, with one single mum even handing over $25,000.

While he claimed “It was just too easy,” this tragic story of deceit finally came to a close in 2017 when he was sentenced to five and a half years in jail on 21 charges, including 12 counts of fraud.