Scam victim to tell her story in Grovedale

A SCAM victim and now author will tell her story in an event in Grovedale next week.

Tracy Hall wrote The Last Victim after she was swindled by who she originally thought was “Max Tavita ” a Bondi surfer and the chief investment officer of a family office, who she met in early 2016.

Ms Hall was initially drawn to Mr Tavita’s love of the ocean, running and living a lowkey lifestyle.

But after 16 months together, it was his deeply empathetic nature, intelligence and commitment to building a future together that made her trust him with her heart and her life savings.

What Mr Tavita’s dating bio did not say was that his real name was Hamish McLaren, and that he was a con man on the level of figures such as Elizabeth Holmes, Bernie Madoff and Anna Delvey.

Ms Hall only learned the truth in July 2017, when she watched news footage of the man she loved getting led away in handcuffs in front of his Bondi Beach apartment.

After Mr McLaren was jailed in 2019, the story was first told in podcast Who the Hell is Hamish?, and now Ms Hall has penned her own account with co-author Summer Land.

Ms Hall and Ms Land will talk about The Last Victim at the Books in Bars event, supported by Dymocks Waurn Ponds, at Ceres Distilling Co, 36/8 Lewalan Street, Grovedale on Wednesday, June 19 from 6.30pm to 8pm.

For tickets and more information, head to trybooking.com/events/landing/1237109