An Australian musician who allegedly worked with Keith Urban and Rick Springfield has been accused of defrauding wannabe property investors of millions of dollars for more than a decade. Craig Graham Heath appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Feb. 8 following a police raid on his home in Melbourne’s southeast this month, reported news.com.au.
The 51-year-old was arrested just under two weeks after detectives said they were searching for him and believed he had “now turned his sights on single women.” “It’s believed the man is trying to befriend single women in the Malvern East area in an effort to convince them to invest in construction projects he is involved in,” said a Victoria Police spokesman on Jan. 21.
According to police, the singer fleeced at least $8.7 million from wannabe investors through 35 fraud offenses. Heath appeared remotely in court, remaining silent while attorney Tam McLaughlin spoke on his behalf.
Heath is accused of running a series of investment scams that have resulted in some victims losing their entire life savings. It is alleged he convinced more than a dozen people to invest in five property projects, but all of them failed, leaving them owing almost half a million dollars.
The police will allege that Heath approached Melbourne homeowners with the offer of knocking down their houses and building townhouses in their place. Allegedly, the homeowners were asked to hand over the money for the construction of the townhouses, and then the property was sold off to other investors.
Then Heath is said to have cut off all contact and walked off with both parties’ funds. There are alleged 15 victims who lost between $20,000 and $2.1 million as a result of the scam, which was first reported to police in 2011.
A court filing revealed that prosecutors will allege that Heath had committed a range of fraud between 2011 and September 2023, including making dodgy checks, deceptive loans, and using false documents.
Among the charges against Heath, one alleges that he used a fake letter of authorization stating he owed $25 million for the sale of machinery to entice a buyer’s agent into purchasing a $2.7 million property on his behalf in April 2023.
Several companies listed in the charge sheet are said to have been beneficiaries of the alleged fraud, including HeathCorp Property, Icon Property, Quantum Capital Investments, and Marlborough Street Project.
A single mother with an autistic son was among those who lost huge amounts of money in the scam. She was drained of $200,000 in life savings, according to Herald Sun. A 68-year-old pensioner was allegedly defrauded of over $700,000 in equity, and a couple filed bankruptcy against Heath after losing almost a quarter of a million dollars.
“Cardinia Crime Investigation Unit detectives have received reports from 15 victims who have each lost between $20,000 and $2.1 million since the investment scam was first reported to police in 2011,” a Victoria Police statement said.
“Once the victims hand over the funds to build the townhouses, their developments were bought out by other investors without the building works proceeding. The offender then takes off with the cash from both the original property owner, plus the new investors.
“Most recently, it’s believed the man is trying to befriend single women in the Malvern East area in an effort to convince them to invest in construction projects he is involved in.”
The father of two founded Heathcorp with his dad before it went into liquidation in October 2016. Heath was declared bankrupt the following year. Heath’s alleged victims included John Pedder, who claimed to have suffered losses of $200,000 in a failed property project, reported Herald Sun.
According to Pedder, documents containing false pictures from an unrelated development project were used to support the project. Heathcorp went into liquidation shortly after he signed over his cash to it, and the money disappeared. After contacting VCAT about the alleged scam, Pedder acquired a Carnegie property belonging to Heathcorp.
The court adjourned the case for four months because prosecutors needed “additional time” to prepare their case against, whose bail was extended until June 13, when he is scheduled to return to court.