A Melbourne model is accused of ripping off $180,000 from a hapless victim with a cunning alleged email scam – and her former boss is breaking his silence.
Bianca Kowalczyk, 32, is desperately trying to lay the blame on her former lover after she was slapped with multiple fraud charges.
Kowalczyk fronted a Melbourne court on Monday after she allegedly dealt with $188,070 in suspected proceeds of crime.
The racy Instagram poser also allegedly rorted $51,000 in US currency and fleeced $90,579 in gold bullion during the suspected three-day fraud racket in November last year.
Kowalczyk met her co-accused and former flame Harpreet Dhaliwal several months prior to the alleged offending.
Dhaliwal, 31, is behind bars after he was slapped with 16 fraud and deal with the proceeds of crime charges.
In details aired during a previous court hearing, police alleged a suspected pro grifter crew ‘hacked’ an email trail from a conveyancer and altered bank account details.
Melbourne model Bianca Kowalczyk has been charged with fraud
The prosecution alleged some of the stolen cash – from an unnamed victim – was diverted to bank accounts suspected of being opened by Kowalczyk.
Kowalczyk, who has no prior matters before the court, gave a statement to police before she was charged on May 30 this year.
‘I blindly followed him as I thought he loved me… I trusted him,’ Kowalczyk said in her statement to police.
In another shock move, Kowalczyk ‘may be called as a witness’ to spill the beans on her incarcerated ex, the court was told.
Lawyers who acted for Kowalczyk at an earlier hearing submitted Dhaliwal allegedly ‘used’ his then girlfriend to ‘assist in the deception’.
‘We (Kowalczyk) participated purely out of our blinded love for the co-accused,’ the defence told the court.
‘(Kowalczyk) doesn’t deny attending, opening bank accounts, she doesn’t deny any of that…’
Kowalczyk, who is pressing to have her matter dealt with at a lower court, was allegedly linked to the suspected offending via WhatsApp messages.
Kowalczyk worked at an exclusive modelling agency
‘(The WhatsApp messages) had a certain flavour… a level of dishonesty or a conspiratorial flavour,” a magistrate said in September.
The court heard Dhaliwal was ‘well and truly in it deeply’ but he wasn’t the ‘mastermind’.
‘It’s devastating for the victim…,’ the defence submitted.
‘They’ve professionally fleeced the poor victim … using Dhaliwal in Melbourne who then enlists his partner, as she thought, to help him in what she thought was his legitimate transactions…
‘Clearly after the event she’s wise to it, she knows, she’s devastated by his betrayal … he used her…
‘It would be ultimately for a finder of fact to determine whether she was criminally responsible or just naïve
“She just thought she was helping the co-accused and it was all legal transactions because he had duped her… she did what she was told and believed his lies…”
The prosecution had previously submitted there was a ‘degree of organisation involved”.
Kowalczyk allegedly committed multiple frauds
Kowalczyk, who had her criminal matters adjourned on Monday, was previously employed as a director at exclusive Sydney-based events and modelling agency Media Belle Productions and Events.
Media Belle boss Dominic Surace told Daily Mail Australia it parted ways with Kowalczyk and was not aware she faced criminal charges until her mutual exit. .
‘Shortly after her appointment, communication with her ceased with useful or meaningful information eventually leading to revelations that Victoria Police had visited her residence seizing both her personal and company mobile phones,’ Mr Surace said.
‘Kowalczyk claimed the police were investigating a former boyfriend and insisted that she had not engaged in any wrongdoing.
‘Subsequent developments revealed that the police investigation was linked to fraud allegations…’
Kowalczyk was allegedly caught with more than $90,000 in gold bullion
Mr Surace, who also runs Elite Showcase Modelling Agency of which Kowalczyk was a director, said the company did everything it could to support the suspected grifter’s ‘dream job’.
‘Regrettably, despite this extensive support provided and time invested in assisting Kowalczyk, the company feels a profound sense of disappointment,’ he said.
‘This situation has fostered feelings of disrespect from Kowalczyk, as well as garnering acts of dishonesty, threats and betrayal.
‘Nevertheless, since Kowalczyk’s departure, the company has made significant strides in various areas, and we are very optimistic about the bright and promising future that lies ahead.’
Kowalczyk, of Gowanbrae in Melbourne’s north west, and Dhaliwal, of Mulgrave in the city’s southeast, will front court at later dates.
