澳洲Hamish McLaren: How a serial conman not only fleeced investors out of $70Million but also groomed the 16-year-old granddaughter of one of his victims when he was 51

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A serial conman has been branded 'cruel' and 'sick' after he groomed and dated the 16-year-old granddaughter of one of his victims.

Hamish McLaren, 54, fleeced $70 million from dozens of victims worldwide by pretending to be an investment fund manager and promising huge returns.

He preyed upon elderly couple Lorraine and Peter who eventually lost $1.65 million to his swindle.

Not content with just stealing their money, however, McLaren began dating their 16-year-old granddaughter 'Jane' who had originally been in a relationship with his stepson.

'I actually think that he was grooming her from about 15 or 16 when I look back at it,' Lorraine told the King Con: The Life and Crimes of Hamish McLaren documentary on Channel Seven.

She added: 'What he did to Jane was just despicable. He's a very cruel man, a very sick man.'

Hamish McLaren, 54, fleeced $70 million from dozens of victims worldwide by pretending to be an investment fund manager and promising huge returns

READ MORE: How a serial swindler dressed like James Bond, drove an Aston Martin and fleeced more than $7.6 MILLION from girlfriends and even fashion designer Lisa Ho

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Peter said the relationship with McLaren, who was 51 at the time, irrevocably damaged their granddaughter's life.

'Good at sports, good at everything really and she's just a mess now,' Peter told the program.

McLaren wooed her with trips away and promises that he could get her into Princeton for university.

McLaren was handed a 16-year jail sentence in 2019 for his crimes, later reduced to 12 years.

Forensic psychologist Dr Shohom Das said McLaren's pursuing of a 16-year-old showed he had 'no moral compass whatsoever'.

'He seems to be sexually attracted to this 16-year-old girl, meanwhile he's lying to his own wife Bec and he was ripping off this young girl's grandparents,' he said.

'This really shows that there's almost no boundary he won't cross, there's no level of depravity he won't stoop to.'

McLaren's crimes featured in The Australian's award-winning podcast Who The Hell Is Hamish?, which investigated how he had been conning people since the 1990s.

McLaren (pictured) was handed a 16-year jail sentence in 2019 for his crimes, later reduced to 12 years on appeal

His other victims included Australian fashion designer Lisa Ho and single mother Tracy Hall.

Ms Hall, from Sydney, met McLaren in 2016 under a pseudonym he was using called Max Tavita.

He eventually convinced her to transfer $317,000 - her entire life savings - into his own pocket.

'He gained my trust through the image he portrayed,' Ms Hall previously said.

'The Max Tavita I knew was a chief investment officer for a family office hedge fund so there was this story that he built over time.'

McLaren's crimes featured in The Australian's award-winning podcast Who The Hell Is Hamish?, which investigated how he had been conning people since the 1990s 

Who is Hamish McLaren? 

* Hamish McLaren was a serial conman who fleeced $70million worldwide from dozens of victims by pretending to be an investment fund manager.

* McLaren fleeced 16 victims, including Australian fashion designer Lisa Ho and his then-girlfriend Tracey Hall, during a relentless series of frauds from 2011 to 2017.

* McLaren - who also called himself Hamish Watson and Max Tavita over the years - used fake but impressive stories to endear himself to victims.

* These included talking up his financial expertise and lying about being in New York at a bar near the World Trade Centre when the planes hit on September 11, 2001.

* He used the money he stole from his victims to live a lavish lifestyle, making regular trips to top holiday destinations and driving fast cars including an Aston Martin. 

Channel Seven
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