Cruel love rat ends up in a cage

Photo caption: TIP-OFF: Brisbane victim Rebecca Bell helped net conman John Harper. Picture: Mark Cranitch Source: The Sunday Mail (Qld)

Daryl Passmore, Jon Kaila

From:The Sunday Mail (Qld)

February 06, 2011 12:01AM

LOVE rat and serial conman Andrew J. Harper boasted of being a billionaire with luxury houses but his home for the next nine months will be prison.

The 39-year-old, who left a trail of victims with his bogus stories of life as a high-flying international businessman, pleaded guilty in a Victorian court last week to 13 charges spanning five years.

But police still want to talk to him in three other states - Queensland, NSW and South Australia - about the possibility of further charges being laid.

Harper was arrested following a tip-off after two Brisbane women, Rebecca Bell and Diana Mors, set up a website to expose and catch him.

Ms Bell was in court to see him jailed. "It's awesome," she said. "He got what he deserved.

"I wanted to be here to represent all his victims and let him know this hasn't ended.

"The sentence is a big achievement for everyone involved. It brings us one step closer to closure and helps protect others. We are all very happy."

Harper, who told women he met through internet sites that he was Australia's second-richest man and claimed tycoon Sir Richard Branson was a friend, wore a white T-shirt and green tracksuit bottoms for the 41-minute hearing at Frankston Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Magistrate Ross Betts, who also ordered Harper to repay $22,244.96, said: "You have perpetuated a premeditated, malicious and cruel, cruel deception that warrants imprisonment."

Prosecutor Darren Cathie told the court: "He claimed to be a multi-millionaire, have property in Monte Carlo with a boat and vehicles. He also claimed that he was the director of a Korean shipping company."

The victims included Victorian mum-of-two Katherine Pizzey, 36.

Harper negotiated to buy her a Maserati Gran Turismo valued at $347,000 and a $718,000 Ferrari 599 for himself.

For each purchase, penniless Harper would have contracts sent to email addresses for fake personal assistants and lawyers "to be checked over", but no money ever exchanged hands.

When his victims questioned him, Harper gave a sob story so they would let him stay in their homes.

"He stated he had cancer and was receiving chemo treatment," Mr Cathie said.

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Love, Betrayal and Revenge - Woman's Weekly, Jan 2011

These three women were duped by a charismatic con man, but fought back by warning other women on the web. Now he’s under arrest, reports Jordan Baker.

(Woman's Weekly had to change Andrew's name for legal reasons)

It was the eyes that hooked Diana Mors. His charm and generosity were appealing, too, but she loved his George Clooney gaze – a gaze that made her feel like the only woman in the world. Tom* was funny, handsome and smart, almost too good to be true. But, she reasoned, good things eventually come to those who deserve them.

It was in late 2008, as they got to know each other through emails, that Tom told her of his loneliness after his fiancée died in a car accident. He mentioned only in passing the fortune that alloweé him to take extravagant holidays, wander the country and go back to university. He was new to Brisbane and would be staying a little while, he told her. He had a suggestion: could he rent a room at her house rather than stay at a lonely hotel?

He moved in, romance blossomed, and Tom showed his gratitude by taking her shopping for designer clothes and a car. They had have extravagant dinners. But Tom never paid for the shopping sprees on the spot, and the purchases were never delivered. When they dined out, she would pay and he’d add it to the money his personal assistant was transferring to her account.

When, after six weeks, he owed her about $2000, Diana told Tom to leave and sort his finances out. “You know where I am once you’ve worked things out,” she told him. He packed his bags and disappeared. She later found out he moved straight in with Rebecca, a woman he met online using Diana’s internet connection.

While living at Diana’s house, Tom had dazzled smart, savvy Rebecca Bell, 33. He shared many of her interests, and she was moved by the tragic story of his fiancée who died in a car accident. “He had a lot of confidence and I think that enticed me,” Rebecca says. “You feel like you haven’t had a connection with someone like that in a long time.”

He was wealthy, he told her, but expensive hotels were lonely. He was staying with a friend, but would rather rent a room off Rebecca. She invited him into her home and romance blossomed. He valued her opinion and consulted her about his business dealings. She saw emails and texts from his associates, which seemed to back up his tales. He took her shopping for expensive gifts, although there was always a reason why he could not pay on the spot.

“Each time I’d try to ask him questions, he’d produce a document or email, or turn it around on me, saying how could I not trust him?” she tells The Weekly. As Rebecca waited to move into a house he said he had bought for her, Tom flew to Adelaide to give a speech on carbon credits. “I knew he was leaving,” she says. “I was relieved. And then a little light bulb went off in my head.”

Rebecca dug out the phone number of the “friend” he’d mentioned, a woman called Diana, and sent her a text message. It read: “I’ve been with Tom. I think he’s a con man.” Diana called her immediately. “Honey,” she said, “you don’t know the half of it.”

Using information they remembered from conversations with Tom, they tracked down one of his victims, who in turn helped them track down others. With painstaking research, they pieced together the past 10 years of his life and contacted 21 women across Australia and the USA, who had been hurt and ripped off by Tom. Diana and Rebecca learned that there were worse cases than theirs; some women were financially ruined. Their quest became two-pronged – to protect other women, and to support those who had fallen victim. They call it a “survivors group”.

Yet on the many occasions they tried to report Tom to police, they got little sympathy. “Police would say there’s no law against lying or moral misconduct,” says Diana. “What gets me is if I walked into David Jones and took thousands of dollars worth of goods, I’d be in prison. But when he walks into someone’s life and rips them off, you get a condescending look and ‘buyer beware, honey’.”

Read more of this story in the January issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.

If you have any details regarding Andrew John Harper please contact us at: stopharper@live.com

Contact us!

If you have any information regarding Andrew John Harper, please contact us at the following email address:

stopharper@live.com

Love rat Andrew Harper's women have day in court

THEY are caring, compassionate and charitable ... and they were all allegedly conned by Andrew Harper.

But these three women had the satisfaction of watching the 39-year-old in court this week.

Rebecca Bell, 33, Diana Mors, 44, and Rochelle Fisher, 41, sat metres from the man they feared they would never see again.

He vanished from their lives leaving a trail of misery and allegedly taking tens of thousands of dollars.

The three women - who met for the first time this week - each gave interviews to police that eventually led to Harper's arrest.

Harper appeared in Frankston Magistrates' Court on Friday faced with 35 counts of fraud and deception. The hearing, which lasted 47 seconds, was adjourned until February 2 after Harper's legal team indicated he was ready to plead guilty to all charges.

A bearded Harper, wearing green tracksuit bottoms and a plain white T-shirt - which revealed a tattoo of crossed racing flags on his right arm - spoke only to confirm he was not applying for bail.

He stared straight ahead during the proceedings, avoiding any eye contact with his three alleged victims.

Ms Fisher, from Adelaide, says she is $67,000 out of pocket after Harper left her in April this year.

She realised who he really was only when she read about him in the Sunday Herald Sun last month in a story that counted at least 17 victims from Australia, Europe and the US.

"I only knew him under the fake name Andrew Karlsson, a made-up TV executive," Ms Fisher said.

"It was only when I read about him in the Sunday Herald Sun that I saw the picture and realised who he was.

"For me, seeing him in court, answering to his real name gives me closure.

"It proves to me the relationship was a lie from start to finish."

Ms Mors, from Mt Isa in Queensland, said being present in court was "satisfying."

"I felt numb about seeing him. I knew he wasn't going to look at us, but it was satisfying that he knew we were there," the gym business owner said.

"Just knowing we've done all we can is a very good outcome."

Ms Bell said she took comfort in Harper's reversed fortune.

"We had the upper hand for the first time. Now he knows what it's like to not be in a good place," she said.

"He looked scruffy and run-down."

The case was adjourned for a plea of guilty in February.

Jon Kaila

From:Sunday Herald Sun

December 12, 2010 12:00AM

34 Counts of Fraud, Deception and Identity Theft

AN alleged serial love rat conman is facing 34 charges of fraud and deception after being exposed in the Sunday Herald Sun.

Andrew John Harper, 39, is accused of fleecing hundreds of thousands of dollars from women all over Australia and abroad.

He was charged last week with two counts of deception after alleged victim Katherine Pizzey, from Mornington, made a complaint to police.

But now another alleged victim has come forward, saying she was duped out of money by Andrew Harper years earlier.

Police charged Mr Harper on Thursday with an additional 32 counts of fraud and deception.

Detective Senior Constable Alex Montgomery, who is leading the investigation, confirmed: "Mr Harper is now facing 34 charges of fraud and deception.

"The additional 32 charges laid this week come after a woman from New South Wales claimed she was a victim of Mr Harper when living in Victoria in 2005."

Alleged victims say he also used the name Ryan DuPont and Andrew Karlsson and acted as a high-roller businessman worth $1.6 billion.

Mr Harper is on remand and is yet to enter a plea.

He was arrested by police in Glenroy after a tip-off from a Sunday Herald Sun reader.

m:

Jon Kaila Sunday Herald Sun

November 27, 2010 10:05PM

Video Clips - A Current Affair/Today Tonight - Victims speak out

Diana Mors, Rebecca Bell and Tony Low appear on A Current Affair, November 11, 2010.

Rochelle Fisher on Today Tonight, November 8, 2010.

The hospital footage, shown on A Current Affair.

Email: stopharper@live.com

A Current Affair - November 17th

Andrew John Harper arrested on November 17, 2010 at Glenroy, Victoria.

Andrew John Harper arrested - Nov 17, 2010

AN alleged serial love rat conman has been arrested by police thanks to a tip-off from a reader.

Officers arrested Andrew John Harper at 10.30am this morning in Glenroy after a reader recognised him from a picture published in the Sunday Herald Sun.

Details were also published in the Herald Sun and on heraldsun.com.au

The 39-year-old has been charged with fraud and deception and is expected to appear at Frankston Magistrates' Court tomorrow morning.

Andrew Harper, who also allegedly used the name Dr Ryan Reece DuPont and Andrew Karlsson, is accused of fleecing hundreds of thousands of dollars from women all over Australia and abroad.

One alleged victim, Diana Mors, 44, from Brisbane, said she was relieved after the latest development in the case.

"I'm shaking with joy,” Ms Mors said.

"You don't know what a relief it is.''

Rebecca Bell, also from Brisbane, said: "This is fantastic news. We have been trying to find him for two year. I am so pleased.''

Mr Harper is wanted for questioning in another four Australian states on suspicion of fraud and deception.

Alleged Victorian victim Katherine Pizzey, from Mornington, said the arrest provided some relief for alleged victims. “I'll be able to sleep peacefully,” she said.

A spokesman for Victoria Police said: "Police arrested a man today in relation to an alleged deception in Mornington.

"Detectives from Mornington Crime Investigation Unit arrested the NSW man at about 10.30am in Glenroy.

"The 39-year-old is currently assisting police with their enquiries."

Later, Detective Sen Cons Alex Montgomery said: "He has now been charged and we expect him to appear before Frankston Magistrates' Court tomorrow."

Jon Kaila - Sunday Herald Sun - November 17, 2010