Sydney fortune teller and daughter busted in $46m ‘Ghost Car’ Scam: Police find gold, designer bags, and casino chips in luxury mansion raid

In the suburbs of Sydney, Australia, a mother-daughter duo scammed $46m (A$70m) from Vietnamese targets in Australia. The 53-year-old mother and her 25-year-old daughter were part of a ‘sophisticated’ fraud and money laundering syndicate. The Police arrested the two from Dover Heights in Sydney on Wednesday.

The old woman claimed to be a Feng Shui master fortune teller; she told people that she could see a bright future ahead of them. She persuaded people to take out a loan, predicting that a ‘billionaire’ would save them. During the early morning bust, the police arrested the pair from their mansion along with financial documents, mobile phones, luxury handbags, a 40g gold bar worth $6,500 and $4,356 in casino chips.

The mother faces 39 charges, including directing the activity of a criminal group, misleading people and taking financial advantage of vulnerable and economically distressed people. She was refused bail, while the daughter is facing 7 charges, including recklessly dealing with proceeds of crime and being part of a criminal group; however, she is out on bail with a court hearing due on January.'

The 'Ghost Car' syndicate connection

The investigation was launched in 2024 at a syndicate which was targeting Sydney automotive financing. They would take out loans through financial companies using stolen personal information to purchase luxury ‘ghost cars’ which did not exist. Further detailed investigation revealed that there were large-scale personal, business and home loan fraud against multiple financial institutions. The mother and daughter were an integral part of the syndicate. 17 other people have been arrested since last year, and $60 million worth of assets have been seized.

"What began as an investigation into fraudulent car financing has expanded into uncovering one of the most sophisticated financial crime syndicates I have seen in my career at the helm of the Financial Crimes Squad," said Detective Gordon Arbinja of the Financial Crimes Squad.