The real life faces behind Who The Hell Is Hamish, The Australian's addictive new podcast.

Fresh off the back of the hugely successful The Teacher’s Pet podcast, The Australian has released another audio series with a questionably-intentioned man at the centre.

Who The Hell Is Hamish?, created by The Australian’s Greg Bearup, explores how conman Hamish McLaren managed to rip off more than $7 million dollars from victims from 2011, up until his arrest in July 2017.

Here are the people at the centre of the story:

Hamish McLaren

Hamish McLaren, 48, was born Hamish Watson, but went by many names in order to dupe his victims into investing their savings in his phoney schemes. In 2019, he is due to be sentenced for the crimes of defrauding 15 victims a total of $7.66 million. But as the podcast explores, Hamish had been conning people since the 1990s.

The sentencing of conman Hamish McLaren, the subject of a new podcast series by The Australian, has been delayed so can undergo mental health tests. https://t.co/IgnndLNw0c pic.twitter.com/QNGNXuQAoS

— The Australian (@australian) February 11, 2019

Hamish McLaren’s bail application was the first story I ever covered as a reporter. Listen to @gbearup and @NicholasAddams’ fascinating podcast about him. #whothehellishamish https://t.co/kCyQxkJAcB

— Olivia Caisley (@livcaisley) February 8, 2019

Bec Rosen

Mum-of-three Bec Rosen met Hamish at Blueys Beach and ignored whispers of his murky past. The pair wed in May 2011, but two years into their marriage Bec started to uncover the lies her husband had told her. In episodes three and four of Who The Hell Is Hamish? she shares how she learned the horrible truth.

Hamish McLaren didn’t just rip off his victims, he married one. When Bec Rosen looks back ‘it makes me want to vomit’https://t.co/EHerLcRdQt #WhothehellisHamish

— The Australian (@australian) February 22, 2019

Jack Rosen

Jack Rosen is Bec’s then-teenage son. But he would be burned by his new step-dad when he set his sights on Jack’s girlfriend. The trouble started when Hamish offered “Jane” an internship, which later led to an affair. But in the end, she was betrayed by him too.

Tracy Hall

To Tracy Hall, Hamish was Max Tavita, a former Wall Street financial trader who had just returned to Sydney when she met him in 2016. A few months into their relationship, he brought up the first “deal” his girlfriend might like to invest in. By the time he was arrested in mid-2017 he had swindled $317,000 from her.

Fraudster Hamish McLaren’s final victim – Tracy Hall https://t.co/hsAcGs0GOt

— Greg Bearup (@gbearup) February 8, 2019

Lisa Ho

Lisa Ho has the unfortunate title of being Hamish’s most high-profile victim, after he inserted himself into her life and managed to cause all kinds of conflicts. However, the fashion designer played a key role in his downfall and managed to recover $500,000 of the $850,000 he stole from her.

You can listen to all the episodes of Who The Hell Is Hamish? and access more bonus content and episodes at The Australian.