Woman defrauded lawyer of $1.2m

A personable, 65-year-old conwoman dubbed "the queen of greed" duped 10 people out of more than $2 million before losing the money to a classic Nigerian scam.

Among her victims was a lawyer, formerly a senior member of a well-known Auckland practice, who lost $1.2 million.

The woman, Patricia Lenine Mabel Walsh, of Howick, was found guilty in the Auckland District Court yesterday on 47 counts relating to the Nigerian fraud and a further three fraud charges over the purchase of a $1.8 million home at Whitford.

A cousin, 78-year-old Elva Mary Medhurst, also of Howick, faced two charges of misappropriation but died partway through the trial.

The jury heard that the 10 people who lost just over $2 million also put money into a failed upmarket apartment project initiated by Walsh.

She and her fellow investors were conned out of their money by American fraudster Greg Dutcher, who offered to provide finance for the project - but they had to pay fees and expenses upfront.

When Walsh approached the investors with a rescue package, they threw good money after bad.

The lawyer, whose name was suppressed, lost $400,000 on the building project and $1.2 million trying to recoup his loss. A 90-year-old woman lost $337,000 in the Nigerian scam.

Serious Fraud Office lawyer David Jones said Walsh concealed the Nigerian connection when discussing the rescue package with the other investors.

She told them a Middle East benefactor was setting up a trust to help people who had fallen on hard times through no fault of their own. She was the trust's New Zealand representative and the funds would be under her control to dispense to people who fitted the criteria.

As in the Dutcher fraud, the investors were told that before the rescue money could be transferred to New Zealand, they had to pay set-up costs, taxes, bank fees and legal costs.

The Crown said that Walsh, who was expecting US$28 million, was telling the victims what the Nigerians were telling her. But when asked, she denied any Nigerian connection. Inevitably, the US$28 million never arrived.

The Crown said that on a trip to Amsterdam, Walsh was shown boxes said by the Nigerians to contain the money.

According to the SFO, she manufactured a large number of letters from banks, law firms and other institutions to confirm that the money would arrive soon.

Mr Jones told the jury Walsh was the queen of greed, "a serial liar and a serial forger".

Walsh, an undischarged bankrupt, was remanded in custody for sentencing next month.

Victim wants clampdown

An Auckland lawyer, conned out of $1.6 million in two separate classic Nigerian scams, is calling for banking restrictions to defeat overseas fraudsters.

The man, who has name suppression, lost his $400,000 investment in an upmarket apartment complex in St Stephens Ave to an American conman.

He then lost a further $1.2 million in another Nigerian fraud involving Patricia Walsh in a vain attempt to recover the money.

The lawyer trusted and believed Walsh when she said that an overseas benefactor was going to help them in their financial distress.

He told a depositions hearing last year that he expected to receive $8 million. No money arrived.

After Walsh's conviction yesterday, the lawyer said the Government should act to counter the activities of overseas fraudsters by severely limiting the amounts and frequency which individuals could use organisations such as Western Union and Travelex to transfer money out of the country.