
Melissa Caddick was a 49-year-old from Sydney's eastern suburbs, living a life of luxury.
Behind the scenes, she was also a con artist who, through an elaborate ponzi scheme was able to defraud countless people, the sum totalling $23 million.
Before she was caught by ASIC, she had lived quite the life. Caddick had previously been married to her first husband, and they lived in England with their son. Years into the marriage, Caddick embarked on an affair with her hairdresser - a man named Anthony Koletti, 11 years her junior.
When her first husband caught wind of the affair, the marriage was over, and Caddick returned to Australia in 2012 with her six-year-old son and embarked on a new relationship with Koletti.
When the pair wed on New Year's Eve in 2013, it was a spectacular occasion. The champagne was flowing. Caddick had three outfit changes. And their nearest and dearest were all in attendance.
But it was all paid for with stolen money.
Stolen money which belonged to their wedding guests, according to journalist Kate McClymont on Mamamia's No Filter podcast.
Watch Melissa Caddick's Husband Anthony Koletti being interviewed. Post continues below.
In the early years of her career, Caddick began testing out her powers of deception.
In one job, she was caught inflating invoices in her favour. In another, she would get a bottle of liquid paper and white out the percentage commissions, giving herself double the amount originally listed. McClymont and her team also discovered another example - where Caddick's then-colleagues were all chipping in for a birthday present for a workmate. Caddick sent a false copy of her bank transfer in order not to pay her way.
The first person who Caddick officially defrauded was her oldest friend from school, Kate Horn, from around 2012.
Kate's a disability worker, a single mum, quietly spoken and a really kind person, McClymont said.