How victims were scammed out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by Bank of America employee

An Australian man living in London has revealed details of an extraordinary multi-million dollar fraud that almost cost him his house, business and his health.

Rajesh Ghedia was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison last year for pretending to be a Bank of America financial adviser as part of the AU$3.3 million scam.

WATCH VIDEO ABOVE: How an Australian family were scammed out of thousands by a former banker

Ghedia, an employee working in technology operations at one of the world’s biggest financial institutions, convinced seven people — including his cousin — to invest in non-existent financial products but pocketed the money himself.

Australian Wayne Johncock and his wife, Nicky, were among the victims.

Over 15 months, the felon, who had no authority to offer financial advice, convinced Johncock that he would negotiate funds for his education company.

“Every day I thought I was dealing with the Bank of America ... never ever thought I’d be involved in something like this,” Johncock said.

“The emails would come in, I had meetings in there, and my name was at the front desk.”

Johncock lost more than $A337,000 in Ghedia’s scams, which had a major impact on his mental health.

Another victim sold their family home because they were told they owed the bank $135,368 in taxes related to a fake investment portfolio.

The lies unravel

Prosecutors said Ghedia’s scams, dating back to 2016, came to light when one of his victims contacted the bank and learnt the $A250,000 he invested had been put into Ghedia’s personal account.

“When the investor asked to withdraw the funds or questioned the lack of return, Ghedia would offer a number of excuses, including delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the UK leaving the European Union, “ a spokesperson for London Police said.

“He even at one point alleged that Russian hackers had intercepted the funds, and advised the client to report it to Action Fraud.”

Then around the same time, Ghedia faked having stage 4 pancreatic cancer to receive pension payments worth $AUD2.2 million from insurance companies that allowed him to make claims if he had 12 months to live.

Detectives began investigating his insurance claims when his mortgage provider, Spring Finance, became suspicious following multiple failed repayments.

Fraud investigators who made calls to medical clinics listed on Ghedia’s medical records were told the doctors listed were not consultants for them.

The main doctor on Ghedia’s letters said to police, “he had never treated anyone with the name Rajesh Ghedia, nor had anyone with this name been a patient at his clinic”.

He also proved to police the email addresses and signatures used on Ghedia’s record were fake.

When police executed a search warrant at Ghedia’s home, they found he was living a lavish life in a mansion in one of the most expensive areas in London, while privately educating his children.

Ghedia declined to answer the police officers’ questions.

“As soon as this case landed on my desk, it was clear Ghedia’s story did not add up,” Spring Finance compliance manager Erika Leung said.

“The timeline of his diagnosis coupled with the lack of contact, payments and suspicious medical documents immediately raised alarm bells, leading us to report the case to Action Fraud.”

Johncock blames the Bank of America for not finding out that Ghedia was running an elaborate scam under their noses sooner.

“Their response is just atrocious,” Johncock said about the bank.

The fraudster pleaded guilty to more than 30 counts of fraud in June 2022.

“Ghedia shows no sign of having a moral compass. Hopefully, some time behind bars will give him the opportunity to find one,” City of London Police Detective Constable Daniel Weller said.

Johncock and his wife are seeking compensation, and hoping other financial institutions will up their security.

The Bank of America declined to comment.

- With Chris Reason