Police in New South Wales have arrested a Vietnamese born woman who allegedly posed as a fortune teller and feng shui master to run a sophisticated seventy million dollar fraud and money laundering scheme targeting members of the local Vietnamese community.
Officers detained Anya Phan, age fifty three, and her daughter Thi Ta, age twenty five, during a raid in the upscale suburb of Dover Heights on November twelve. Investigators say Phan convinced vulnerable people to borrow money based on her claims that a billionaire benefactor would soon appear and repay their debts.
A search of the home uncovered financial documents, electronics, luxury handbags, a forty gram gold bar, and six thousand six hundred dollars in casino chips, according to The Guardian.
Police allege Phan operated a large underground financial network with help from her daughter. The New South Wales Crime Commission has frozen an additional fifteen million dollars in related assets.
Inspector Gordon Arbinja, head of the financial crime unit, told reporters that Phan used her self proclaimed feng shui skills to recruit people struggling with debt to work for her. Each transaction brought her at least one hundred fifty thousand dollars, he said.
Authorities noted that many victims took part in high risk borrowing with little caution, and some have also been arrested for their involvement.
Investigators were struck by Phan’s lifestyle. She migrated to Australia in 2001 and later became a citizen. Despite long term unemployment and more than twenty years on disability benefits, she lived in a property costing fifty six thousand dollars per month and held VIP status at a major casino. Police accuse her of laundering more than five hundred thousand dollars there in just two months.
Phan now faces thirty nine charges, including directing the activities of a criminal group, nineteen counts of financial fraud, and thirteen counts of dealing with the proceeds of crime. Bail was denied and she is scheduled to appear in court on January fifteen 2026. Her daughter faces related fraud and money laundering charges.
The case emerged from Strike Force Myddleton, a broader investigation into a vehicle finance network that used stolen identities to obtain loans for so called ghost cars. A deeper probe revealed extensive fraud schemes tied to personal, business, and housing loans.
Police say half of the criminal network has already been arrested. Remaining suspects, including brokers, lawyers, accountants, and property developers, are expected to face prosecution. In total, sixty million dollars in assets has been frozen.
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