By Perry Duffin
Detectives thought they had found the reclusive “mastermind” of a crew allegedly scamming vulnerable Australian retirees – but at the centre of a maze of fraudulent accounts they found an alleged victim of domestic violence.
Now a court has heard the woman deployed her expert knowledge of financial systems “under duress” so her husband could allegedly pour more than a million stolen dollars into his gambling addiction.
Samiuddin Khaja (inset) is allegedly at the centre of a sophisticated scam that siphoned $1.4 million from elderly people to gambling accounts with the help of his wife, who was arrested in Sydney in May (main picture).
NSW Police formed Strike Force Artal after an elderly woman, in rural NSW, was scammed out of $7500 over the phone.
The elderly woman unwittingly transferred her money to a “mule” account, opened at a bank using fake identification. From there her money was withdrawn from ATMs in Lakemba, used to buy gift cards and siphoned into a Bet365 gambling account, court documents obtained by the Herald allege.
Bet365 and other gambling companies began digging into their records and allegedly found 107 accounts across Sportsbet, Unibet, Ladbrokes and PointsBet set up with similar details in owners’ names, addresses and metadata.
The web of gambling accounts, police say, received more than $2 million in total from the suspected scammers and placed hundreds of bets on horses and games.
Samiuddin Khaja allegedly headed up a scam operation targeting elderly and vulnerable Australians to fund his gambling addiction. His wife, an accountant, allegedly managed the scam’s mule accounts.Credit: Facebook
Detectives traced down 16 further alleged victims, among them a 74-year-old Queenslander who lost $39,000, an 82-year-old Tasmanian who lost $17,800 and a 72-year-old in Queensland who lost $28,000.
One 82-year-old man was tricked into letting the scam crew access the computer in his retirement village in South Australia. They transferred $29,000 from his bank and into their mule accounts.
Police followed the gambling winnings and allegedly found one name again and again – Khaja Begum Asfiya.
Artal’s detectives zeroed in on an unassuming, quiet and softly spoken accountant from Sydney’s west.
Police arrested Samiuddin Khaja at Sydney Airport. They allege he was trying to flee Australia after his wife was arrested in Sydney’s CBD.Credit: NSW Police
The 36-year-old was arrested by detectives on Sydney’s George Street during a bustling lunch hour in May this year.
A letter from police, released by the court, says investigators initially believed Asfiya was the “mastermind of the syndicate”. But covert surveillance allegedly revealed she was actually a victim of domestic violence.
A week later her husband, Samiuddin Khaja, was arrested at Sydney Airport as he tried to board a flight to India. Police say he was trying to flee.
It had been almost a decade since the couple landed in Australia for the first time. Asfiya came to study accounting, commerce and security. Her husband, police documents allege, had brought his “crippling gambling problem” to Australia.
Recently, Asfiya was acting “under duress” to set up webs of accounts for her husband but claimed she was unaware of the specifics of Khaja’s activities, police now allege in the court documents.
“Investigators will allege the accused caused his wife to use her knowledge of accounting to create and manage numerous mule accounts which have been used to defraud Australians of millions of dollars,” the police document reads.
“The accused arranged the creation of false accounts which were used to receive funds obtained from scams.”
Police alleged Khaja dealt with $1.4 million in suspected proceeds of crime and had directed a criminal group. He has not entered a plea and he is not charged with domestic violence.
Last month Khaja applied for release on bail in the NSW Supreme Court.
Justice Natalie Adams said Khaja’s alleged scam operation targeted a very large number of “vulnerable and elderly people”.
Khaja had allegedly attempted to influence his former crew against giving damaging evidence and one had fled Australia while on bail in late 2021, Justice Adams continued.
Justice Adams refused bail. Khaja, who appeared glum in the videolink from prison, did not react.
Both Khaja and Asfiya will face court again later this year. Three more alleged members of the syndicate are before the courts. Only $5000 of the allegedly stolen money has so far been recovered.
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