RFS volunteer loses house to fires then to conman.

My name is Jess and my mum, Victoria, recently discovered that she has lost everything she has worked for, and this the second time in nine months she has been left with nothing.  First time her beautiful home was destroyed in the fires last December then a conman turned up in Balmoral Village - a man who ended up costing her almost everything she has worked for in the past 40 years.

I started this GoFundMe page to try and raise some funds to help her put a roof over her head and some hope back in her heart. I intend to pass on every cent to my mum and ask that you please help in any way you can.

This is my mum's story:

My name is Victoria, I am a mother, grandmother, a Rural Fire Service volunteer and I volunteer at our local Community Pantry. I live with my youngest daughter in Balmoral Village in the Southern Highlands. I lost my home and all belongings on 21 December 2019 when fires smashed our small village.

I was insured and thought that this would enable me to rebuild my home and my life however a man, masquerading as a caring volunteer, set his sights on our village with a view to defraud and rip us off.

Unfortunately for me, this man decided I would be his focus - over a period of months he defrauded me of every single cent that my insurance company had paid me as well as the majority of donations I had received from charities and caring people. Little by little, he methodically worked his way into a place of trust with many of the villagers, claiming that he hated the thought of anyone ripping people like us off - especially after we had survived the Black Summer Fires and that we were already suffering enough.

He preyed upon the fact that I had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from almost losing my daughter in the fires (she was trapped in the fire shed with fire racing toward them and no water in the village to slow it down) and, of course, the total loss of all belongings I had worked my entire life for.  I now understand that PTSD is a brain injury and that I was not making sensible decisions (seems obvious now but, with hindsight, I can't believe I was duped so easily and so completely).

To say I was numb, scared and overwhelmed is a huge understatement.  This man presented as a good, decent young man who really wanted to use his connections to help myself and many others in this village and surrounds rebuild as quickly and as cheaply as we could.

He ended up defrauding me personally of $660,000 and, it has been estimated, in total he has taken approximately $1 million from in and around our village.

I have been left with a block of dirt and nothing much else. I did have a job but my employer decided that my focus on being an RFS volunteer and fighting fires etc. meant that I "was not focused on her business" and so I was let go. I am on JobSeeker but, due to the current state of things (my PTSD and Covid) it is almost impossible for me to gain employment at the moment.

I really need your help to raise some money as soon as I can to try and put a roof over my head and to get my life back on track. I am currently living in a rental property with my daughter and her fiance but am quickly running out of funds. My aim is to gain enough money to enable me to build again on my block of land which is, at present, just a huge dirt bowl. I hope to get back onto my land to live so I can start to rebuild my life and to work towards a more secure and happier future.

The police are doing their best to pursue this evil man however, as he is bankrupt (found that out recently) I have little to absolutely no chance of regaining my money, or that of others he has stolen from.  We do, however, want him caught and stopped from doing this to anyone else.

I am also hoping that there is a legal team out there who will help me fight this man in civil court - I need pro bono as this is my only chance. Even in a "no win, no pay" situation, I would end up winning but he has no money and so I would owe more money for the legal side of things.

Any support you can offer will be gratefully accepted. I happily volunteer my time and energy helping others and intend to continue to do this as long as I can. This evil man may have taken my belongings and money but I will not allow him to take my inner strength and determination to rise again.

I urge everyone who may be suffering from PTSD or other issues after the fires to be extremely careful about making important decisions. The usual warning bells just do not sound and there is potential to totally miss the kinds of usual clues you might pick up on that would deem you take a pragmatic approach to whatever issue is raised. Please reach out to those around you for help with your decision making - just run the information past the people you love and trust, and listen to their feedback and take it from there. At the time, I felt confident in the decision I made to trust this evil man but looking back.... no way in the world would I make such a decision without having made more thorough checks.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story,