A seasoned investor unwittingly became the victim of a highly polished scamming operation and is now fighting to get back the $700,000 he lost in the saga.
Pedestrian Council of Australia chairman Harold Scruby had to take the company behind the slick investment marketing to court after investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into what he thought were Deutsche Bank ‘Green Sovereign Bonds’.
Other high net-worth individuals have also been targeted by the operation, with one managing to get her $500,000 investment returned while another lost $250,000.
Pedestrian Council of Australia chairman Harold Scruby had to wage a court case after being misled about a $700,000 investment he thought was into a secure bank-backed bond with the money secretly being funnelled into Bitcoin
It was only because of the heroic efforts of her bank manager that retired senior public servant Amanda Biltoft was able to get her $500,000 back.
Another man who lost $250,000 to the same dodgy investment scheme is a senior partner in a prestigious law firm but cannot be named.
Mr Scruby told Daily Mail Australia that he was looking to invest in March and used a website comparing the products offered by different banks.
There are several such websites, such as mozo.com.au, that provide comparisons of investment products offered by banks and financial institutions.
Mr Scruby said on the website ‘there was Westpac, there was NAB, there was all of that’, which made it all seem legitimate.
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