Not so innocent: Detail in cute puppy pic reveals Melissa Caddick’s huge profits
A previously unnoticed detail in an innocent photograph has revealed the eye-watering amount accused fraudster Melissa Caddick was making from her alleged crimes per day.
Caddick sent the photo of her pet dog posing in her home office to one of her victims, according to the podcast Liar Liar: Melissa Caddick and the Missing Millions.
After zooming in on the notepad on Caddick’s desk, it can be seen that “$46K per day” was written under the heading “Average Profits” between April 27 and May 27.
Zooming in on the photograph reveals the record sums Melissa Caddick was making. Image: The Sydney Morning Herald
Kate McClymont, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age journalist who hosts the podcast, told Today that these kinds of discoveries showed how clues could be “hiding in plain sight”.
“The person that provided me with that photo is one of, not only Melissa’s victims, but she worked one day a week for Melissa,” McClymont said.
“So she is sitting there day after day seeing all of these things, but it wasn’t until after Melissa disappeared and the Herald broke the story saying she was running a Ponzi scheme, they didn’t realise they were all victims.”
In May 2020 alone, Caddick made a whopping $1.426 million profit - and her case has since captured the nation’s attention.
Her home in Sydney’s east was raided by federal police on behalf of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in November 2020, and it was suspected she had fleeced millions of dollars from her victims - mostly friends and family - to fund her lifestyle.
Caddick then disappeared a day after the raid.
Months later, the remains of her foot inside a running shoe washed up on a beach on the NSW South Coast.
An inquest into her death will commence in September, and McClymont told Today it could dispel some mysteries surrounding how she died.
“Already I have heard that some of her victims have been interviewed by the police to provide alibis,” she said.
The journalist added that a forensic pathologist would hopefully be able to determine if Caddick’s foot was cut off or had deteriorated in the ocean.
“Until we hear from a forensic pathologist, that is still one of the big mysteries in this case.”
To read the full story and hear the Liar Liar episode, click here.
Image: Nine