Who the Hell is Hamish? · The Australian

The Definition of Evil

·1 hr 6 min·5 clips

Hamish promised to cure Jane's terminally ill sister, a lie she calls the most evil of his crimes.

Jane calls it evil. After months of waiting for a call, the host travels to the north coast of New South Wales and sits with her in a converted garage near the beach. Her name is protected. At 23, she remembers being Jack Rosen's girlfriend, living on Beck Rosen's roof, looking up to Beck, and then the affair with Hamish McLaren, Jack's stepfather and Beck's husband. The episode keeps the language stark. She was a girl, the narration repeats, and the fact is left to sit there while the wider pattern of manipulation takes shape. Then the episode pulls back. A fraud investigator explains the simple checks people often avoid because they fear giving offence or losing a promised opportunity. That hesitation gives the con room to work. So does urgency, especially when someone says a rare chance will disappear if questions are asked. Digital absence matters too. If someone has no footprint, the investigator says there should be a strong reason. Recovery is bleak. Once money has moved through overseas banks, bank lawyers, non-compliant countries, non-compliant banks, or accounts such as the Caymans, the practical trail usually goes cold. Jail becomes the hard boundary. The investigator says prison is the only thing that stops a criminal like Hamish, which makes early complaints feel less like paperwork and more like protection. Matt comes in with the professional view. A former New South Wales detective turned forensic accountant, he has worked corporate litigation, fraud, bribery, and corruption matters for years. His point is blunt: people often realise later that the promise sounded too good to be true, but by then their judgement had already been worn down. The close stays uneasy. The production says it knows the identity of a Sydney woman visiting Hamish in jail, but withholds it while asking listeners with information to come forward.

As heard by us

A patient, unsparing look at how charm, money, and trust can be weaponized.

This episode turns the Hamish McLaren story toward the people left carrying the damage: Jane, his former teenage girlfriend and one of his victims, along with a forensic accountant and a former detective who show how a polished fraudster can keep people convinced for years.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want to hear how a calculating conman keeps the scam moving, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Who the Hell is Hamish?