Conman jailed for fleecing wife

Wayne Charters was a professional conman and Karen Roberts was the unsuspecting
single mother who fell for him and his tales of world espionage.
It would cost her $150,000 and a broken heart.

But after a lifetime of criminal deception, on Thursday it was Charters' turn to pay.
The man who posed as an ASIO spy was jailed for four and a half years for fleecing
Ms Roberts of the cash after charming her into marrying him.
It was an elaborate scheme concocted by Charters - who was on bail for arson at the
time - to flee the country, something he was too broke to manage on his own.
He met Ms Roberts, 47, in February 2003 at a Ulysses motorcycle club gathering and
wooed her by feigning an interest in her hobbies of dolphins, spirituality and art.
During Charters' trial in the Victorian County Court, Ms Roberts said she had fallen
head over heels in love with the conman.
"I believed he was my soul mate," she said. "I believed it was meant to be."
Three months into their relationship the pair married in a bizarre double wedding
alongside Charters' friend Craig Hall.
The dual nuptials were all part of the ruse.
Charters had told Ms Roberts he worked for ASIO and could be called to serve in Iraq
at any time, and faced being killed unless he relocated to Canada.
Hall also posed as an ASIO officer to underscore the authenticity of Charters' charade.
At Charters' insistence, Ms Roberts sold her home, car and furniture. The cash was
converted into travellers' cheques.
Both couples honeymooned in Singapore and although unbeknown to her at the time, it
was at Ms Roberts' expense.
Charters told Ms Roberts on the honeymoon he had been posted to Iraq and left her.
The plan was to meet in Canada one month later, but Ms Roberts, who returned to
Australia, never saw Charters again.
Sentencing Charters on Thursday, Judge James Montgomery said Ms Roberts was a naive
and trusting person who had been deceived by a professional conman.
"You had deceived her with your tales of dangerous world espionage," Judge
Montgomery said.
"You swindled her of her money, you broke her heart, she lost her house.
"You have showed absolutely no remorse for your actions."
Judge Montgomery said Charters had 51 prior convictions mainly for dishonesty and
deception offences over almost 20 years.
"This criminal history shows that you are a conman by occupation and in this case
you preyed on a naive and trusting person," he said.
In her victim impact statement Ms Roberts said she suffered from depression, low
self esteem, and sometimes felt unable to leave her house.
Charters, who had been married twice before and has five children, had also claimed
to be a church minister.
Even the conman's age is a mystery. He claims to be 50, but has given several
different dates of birth.
Charters was found guilty of five counts of obtaining property by deception and
pleaded guilty to one count of theft.
He must serve three and a half years before being eligible for parole.