Samantha Azzopardi
Samantha Lyndell Azzopardi (born 21 August 1988[1]) is an Australian con artist who has been accused of many instances of conning families and authorities, not only in her native Australia but also in Ireland and Canada. In May 2021, the Melbourne Magistrates Court sentenced her to two years imprisonment.
Early life
[edit]Samantha Lyndell Azzopardi was born in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia, on 21 August 1988, of Maltese heritage.[1]
Criminal activities
[edit]Azzopardi first came to the attention of authorities in Rockhampton, Australia, in November 2007 when she was 19. She claimed to be Dakota Johnson and was charged with intent to defraud.[2] In September 2010, she tried to enroll in at least two schools in Brisbane, posing as a student, but was rejected from the second school after her reference letter was found to be fraudulent.[3]
Azzopardi was found outside the General Post Office, Dublin (GPO) in October 2013, wandering up and down and apparently unable to speak English. She came to be known as the "GPO Girl".[4][5][6] The police believed that she was the victim of sex trafficking and was around 14 years of age. When she was eventually identified, the opinion of the Garda Síochána was divided; some maintained that she had not committed a crime as she had not actually claimed anything had been done to her and so needed mental health treatment, whereas others wanted her charged for wasting police time.[7]
In September 2014, Azzopardi walked into a health centre in Calgary, Canada, claiming her name was Aurora Hepburn and that she was the victim of a sexual assault and abduction. The police spent an estimated CA$150,000 (A$166,000),[8] assembling a case, only to be informed of her identity. Azzopardi was charged with public mischief.[9] In December 2014, the Canadian courts sentenced her to two months detention, which she had already served, and deported her back to Australia a week later, accompanied by a Canadian Border Services Agency officer, so that she did not disappear en route.[10]
In late 2016, Azzopardi enrolled at the Good Shepherd School at Marrickville in New South Wales, claiming to be a 13-year-old named Harper Hart. In June 2017, she was charged with "dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, for the education, counselling, food, accommodation and electronics she was given while posing as Harper". She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in prison.[1]
In October 2019, she met a French couple who had recently moved to Melbourne. Claiming to be 18 years old and called Sakah, Azzopardi moved into their home to become their au pair under false credentials. In November 2019, she told the parents she was taking the two children on a picnic, but instead took them to a mental health unit in Bendigo, claiming to be a 14-year-old who had been abused by her uncle. After this incident, she was charged with child stealing, theft and property deception, to which she pleaded guilty in May 2021 and received a two-year sentence.[11] During the trial, it was revealed following multiple assessments that she had been diagnosed by Australian forensic psychiatrist Jacqueline Rakov as suffering borderline personality disorder and a rare phenomenon called pseudologia fantastica, which manifests itself in compulsive lying, internally motivated by her fantasies to recreate a happy childhood narrative.[1][7][12]
Between August and October 2023, after serving a sentence in New South Wales, she claimed to be a 17 year old Belgian victim of domestic violence named Hattie Leigh. She obtained $20,000 worth of aid from family violence support services. In a Melbourne court on 9 October 2024, she was sentenced to two years imprisonment but is already eligible for parole.[13]
Finding Samantha
[edit]In 2023, Azzopardi was the subject of a seven-part true crime podcast series Finding Samantha from RTÉ Documentary On One in Ireland.[14] Speaking with victims, police and care workers, the team also contacted Azzopardi. The series reached No. 1 in iTunes and Spotify Ireland, as well as charting in the top 10 podcast charts in numerous other countries.[15]
Con Girl
[edit]In 2023, Azzopardi was the subject of Con Girl, a four-part Australian true crime docuseries that premiered on the Seven Network on 17 September 2023 and released on Paramount+ in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 22 February 2023.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Koob, Simone Fox (29 May 2021). "How global fraudster Samantha Azzopardi duped Melbourne families". The Age. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Davies, Anne; Calligeros, Marissa; Levy, Megan (7 November 2013). "Ireland mystery woman identified as Australian Samantha Azzopardi, 25". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Mitchell, Georgina (30 October 2017). "Samantha Azzopardi posed as teenager, enrolled in Sydney school". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Cumiskey, Neasa (31 March 2021). "'GPO Girl' who pretended to be trafficking victim pleads guilty to kidnapping charges in Australia". Independent.ie.
- ^ "GPO Girl: A comprehensive series of articles on this topic". Irish Examiner.
- ^ "Four years after 'GPO girl' mystery, the woman behind it appeals jail sentence in Australia". The Journal. 4 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Samantha Azzopardi: Australia's notorious con artist sentenced for child theft". BBC News. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Campbelltown woman jailed for claiming to be sex-trafficking victim". Camden-Narellan Advertiser. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Australian woman charged with mischief in false sex exploitation case". Calgary. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ McClure, Matt (8 December 2014). "Sex victim con artist deported after police spend $150,000 investigating false claims". Calgary Herald.
- ^ McMillan, Ashleigh (3 November 2019). "Serial fraudster Samantha Azzopardi charged with child theft". The Age. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Schelle, Caroline (28 May 2021). "Samantha Azzopardi: Fake nanny and pretend schoolgirl jailed for maximum two years". News.Com.Au. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ Pearson, Erin (10 October 2024). "A global conwoman's wild lies and the victims she's left behind". The Age.
- ^ RTE, website (April 2023). "Finding Samantha". RTE.ie. RTE. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ RTE, website (May 2023). "Finding Samantha Media Update". RTE.ie. RTE. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ Knox, David (14 September 2023). "Con Girl true crime factual for Seven". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 21 September 2023.