Reversed In Queenstown, New Zealand, Emma Ferris stood
inside her local Westpac bank clutching the arm of her new boyfriend of six months, Andrew
Thomson.
Although she pretended like she was in love, she absolutely hated him.
But there she was, standing next to Andrew pretending to be a loving girlfriend, reminding
herself that if Andrew would just sign the papers, she’d nearly be done with him.
$200,000 would go right into her bank account.
Emma was unsure exactly of what Andrew was capable of.
She started to second guess if this was a good idea.
But if she was going to get the money she’d have to push through.
The couple were taken into a private room to wait for the bank rep to bring the transfer
forms.
Eventually, the rep came in with a smile, sat down at the desk and handed Emma the forms.
Emma slid them over to Andrew, who seemed to be in his own world.
He looked at Emma, then down at the papers.
He stared.
Matched Then 37 year old Emma Ferris had finally decided
to date for the first time since she was 22, a year out from an amicable divorice to her
husband of 14 years.
The physiotherapist wasn’t too sure about dating prospects in her tiny New Zealand town
of Glenorchy, but her adoring family made her a Tinder profile and opened her prospects
up.
It wasn’t long before she came across Andrew Thompson, a successful businessman from nearby
Alexandra, who said all the normal stuff people say on their dating profiles: he likes the
outdoors, he likes to travel, likes to have FUN, because who doesn’t like to have fun?-
and his smile looked friendly.
This all sounded awesome to Emma, who, wouldn’t you know it, ALSO likes the outdoors, likes
to travel, have FUN!, and looks friendly when she’s smiling.
Love connection!
After a few online chats, Andrew treated Emma to a coffee date at an exclusive country club
where they sat for three hours- her staring dreamily into his eyes, him prattling on and
on about his business ventures in the way only a true Casanova would.
Emma had actually had quite a few successful property developments herself, being a pretty
astute entrepreneur in her own right, really loved this shared interest and began to feel
a real connection.
Andrew Thomson Former professional wakeboarder and Australian
Football League player Andrew Thomson hailed from Tasmania, Australia.
From the start, Andrew was upfront with Emma about his lack of any social media- he was
forced to hire a PR firm to scrub the internet clean of any reference to him after he had
been the victim of identity theft in the U.S. It seemed odd, but Emma felt it was better
he told her than her finding out on her own.
So Emma was forced to get to know Andrew the way people had to in the ancient times of
the ‘90’s, when every bit of someone’s personal information couldn’t be found online
and you had to just believe what people said and go with your gut.
As they began to see each other more, Andrew did eventually confess that there was something
he’d been hiding- he had done six months in an Australian jail for unwittingly importing
and selling motorcycles to gang members.
He claimed he was never charged with anything but wasn’t proud of the experience.
Emma could not find anything online to disprove anything, but she said that his detailed stories
felt authentic and believable.
Planting Seeds As time went on, Emma saw more warning signs
than I did that time I tried to get on the freeway through an off ramp.
And like me, she ignored them, because flashing red lights and blaring horns always reminded
me of Christmas.
Emma never got to meet any of Andrew’s friends or family, he would often have to unexpectedly
cancel their plans, and every friend or family member of hers who met Andrew always felt
a bit uneasy with him.
After interrogating Andrew on their first meeting, Emma’s sister Sarah could find
no fault with the man, the only fault being he was a little too perfect.
Same here.
Andrew and Emma’s dating life was fairly casual- though Emma found herself making excuses
for Andrew’s occasional odd behavior, after all, she really really liked him, so she wanted
to give every benefit of the doubt she could.
When they did meet up, Andrew would often ‘love bomb’ her with weekend getaways
and lavish gifts- not something Emma wasn’t really looking for, but it was nice to be
doted on.
Real Estate One of Andrew and Emma’s shared passions
was their entrepreneurships, his in business ventures and hers in property development.
Emma’s eyes would light up when their conversations would drift toward those topics, so they would
often have dates looking at local Queenstown properties, or he’d show her a property
he owned or one of his potential investment sites.
As the days wore on, Emma became more and more smitten and her family became more and
more suspicious.
Andrew claimed he was in various company directorships, but when Emma’s brother searched the government’s
New Zealand Companies Office website, a business registry, he found no mention of Andrew Thomson.
Andrew explained it away that the companies were merely in transition and that he was
in contact with the owners and that no worries, everything is good.
The Proposal Emma was always looking for new business opportunities
to afford her more family time, and had begun talks with her bank about financing a new
property development.
Andrew had an idea: what if instead of investing in the property she found, she invested with
HIS company, ATI Group Ltd!
It was as if the heavens opened and the stars aligned: he had produced via his accountant
a sheet showing that he had 8 million in assets back in Australia, so he was good for the
loan, he could set her up to receive a high interest rate to make a good return, the loan
would be earmarked for a specific development so it would be protected, he could let her
withdraw her money at any time!
There were only pros…no cons!
All Emma would need to loan Andrew was $50,000- he would put up one of his properties as collateral
and an agreement could be drawn up.
It was going to be so great Emma didn’t even remember to ask WHY Andrew needed a $50,000
loan.
Soon, the interest payments started rolling in, Emma was happy, Andrew had moved to a
nearby high end rental and leased a brand new truck, and things were going great.
Finally, that hole left by a 14 year marriage was filled and life was good.
The Long Con Since Andrew had made his loan interest payments,
as far as Emma was concerned, any and all concerns her family and friends had about
Andrew could be put to bed.
Things went so well that Andrew suggested another property to Emma would be more lucrative,
but the loan amount he needed was $250,000.
Emma was enthusiastic about this new investment prospect, but more so relieved that Andrew
was proving to be who he said he was.
So Emma quickly had her lawyer draw up another contract, contacted her bank with the plans,
showed Andrew’s Australian assets sheet, and hit the go button.
Unable to contain her excitement, Emma called up one of her close friends, Sarsha Hope,
and talked her ear off about the whole thing- about Andrew, about their connection, how
her family had been suspicious at first but he’d been making good on the first loan,
and how she’s about to make a lot more money on her more substantial loan.
Revealed As soon as Sarsha got off the phone, she immediately
called their mutual friend Jo and expressed concern over this story she’d just been
told.
Sarsha and Jo’s husbands both agreed that something was wrong with all this and went
to work.
On Monday night, Jo’s husband checked into ATI Groups on New Zealand Companies Office
website registry and happened to find a consent form signed by an Andrew Tonks Thomson, a
name no one had yet heard.
A search of Andrew Tonks Thomson led to a mention in the Otago Daily Times, Otago being
a region of New Zealand in which Queenstown is located, the story of an Andrew Charles
Tonks who’d been in prison for two years for two frauds totalling $35,000.
You get one guess who the man pictured in the article looked like, and I’ll give you
a hint: it wasn’t Frank Abagnale as portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Sarsha’s 7:30 AM phone call made Emma’s stomach drop- the truth that she had deep
down known all along was verified, and the denial she clung to in search of her happy
ending could no longer support her weight.
Emma didn’t know what to do, so she called literally everyone she could think of- the
police, her family, the bank- but the transaction had been completed with a fraud.
Once Emma had Andrew’s real name the information hose was turned on full blast, and the flood
was difficult and painful.
Among other deceits, Emma discovered that Andrew had never owned that trucking company-
he’d worked for it as a dispatcher.
The initial property investment she’d given him went to an alcohol company, and he didn’t
own the current property he was seeking her investment on.
Andrew had changed his name after his 2016 conviction, prior to that, Andrew WC Tonks
Thomson, AKA Andrew Charlton Thomson, had seven previous counts of stealing and had
served 28 months behind bars.
The 8 million in assets account was forged.
Emma decided she wouldn’t let Andrew do this to her.
She had to do something.
She just wasn’t sure what.
Emma tried to get Thomson to slow down on the business deal so she could buy more time
to figure out her next move, but Thomson was opposed- so the loan had gone through and
her money was now in Thomson’s account where it would stay.
Unless.
The Balance Emma’s one shot was to somehow con Thomson
into reversing the money back into her account- this meant maintaining their relationship
to keep Thomson’s confidence.
Thomson knew that Emma had close ties to her family, and he also knew that they were suspicious
of him, a fact that Emma would play to her advantage.
Luckily for Emma, any odd behavior on her part she just blamed on the stressful situation
her brother created.
She had explained to Andrew that morning that her brother was the reason he needed to reverse
the $200,000 back into her account.
Andrew seemed a little suspicious of the sudden change of heart, but he trusted Emma.
The only real concern Emma had, other than being discovered, was Andrew’s sudden furious
comment on the way into the bank that her brother doing this to her was the type of
thing he would normally have someone’s legs broken for.
His eyes and tone said he was serious and he claimed to know people- the comment visibly
startled Emma, but Andrew quickly reassured her that nothing would be done.
So there the couple sat in that suffocating room in the bank, both pretending to be in
a relationship, when Thomson finally signed the $200,000 back into Emma’s account.
Tonka Trilogy After the funds had been reversed and the
deal had been canceled Thomson went back to Australia.
The moment he left, Emma contacted the police who told her there was nothing they could
do as long as Thomson wasn’t on New Zealand soil.
In order to make an arrest Emma would have to somehow convince Thomson to come back.
If Emma was going to have any hope of justice being done, the con must continue.
Emma kept up the pretense of their relationship so Thomson doubled down on his deceptions.
As it turned out, her friends and family were right to be suspicious because Thomson was
being deceptive- to better explain, he sent Emma an 11 page manuscript that was to be
his auto-biography, the Tonks Trilogy.
In it, Thomson claimed that he’d actually been involved in international counter terrorism.
Thomson had pretended to get arrested and sent to prison to get close to inmates.
His story was that he maintained a cover as a millionaire to infiltrate a money laundering
and human trafficking scheme.
So he pretended to be the wealthy business owner having to pretend to be filthy and homeless
to get close to a terrorist cell safe house.
Thompson was a real life James Bond crossed with Michael Scarn.
Andrew’s True Lies were true lies.
Thomson swore he’d return to New Zealand and pay Emma the rest of the money he had
borrowed, $80,800, once he got back from his final spy mission in Australia.
It’s always that one last mission that gets you, of course.
Emma, boldly continuing her pretext, convinced him she wanted to continue the relationship,
so Thomson decided to make a return trip to New Zealand.
Arrest On June 13, 2019, a New Zealand detective
called Emma: Andrew Thomson was apprehended and headed to Christchurch men's penitentiary.
Emma collapsed, relieved and elated.
Andrew WC Tonks Thomson pled guilty to two counts of fraud and the theft of $300,000
in a special relationship, two charges of using a forged document, two charges of managing
a company while prohibited and making a false statement with a shareholder consent form.
Thomson received a 28 month jail sentence and was ordered to pay Emma reparations and
emotional harm damages of $71,800- not $80,800 he still owed her, but close.
Aftermath That eel Thomson, however, managed to slime
his reparations down from $71,800 to $12,000, and ended up only serving one year of his
two year and four month sentence.
And was now on a new dating app Bumble, where he was looking for another chance at love.
Or conning.
Thomson had quickly gone on a date with a woman who was immediately put off by his bizarre
stories of counter-terrorism, claims that he lived in a $40 million dollar house, and
was involved in a multi-million dollar building development in Sydney, Australia.
She went online to look him up and immediately found Thomson’s rap sheet and contacted
authorities.
This was a clear violation of Thomson’s parole since he had restricted use of any
device that could access the internet without his probate’s approval.
In a letter to his parole board, Thomson said he really was just looking for friendship,
and that he couldn’t be honest about his past because it would drive people away.
Obviously, that meant just making up crazy stuff instead, and definitely not conning.
He also compared his situation to a powerless alcoholic gambler being released from rehab
to Las Vegas- a ‘well…what did you think I was going to do?’
explanation that seems like more of an argument to keep him incarcerated.
Rather than send Thomson back to prison, the parole board felt they could simply monitor
his online activities better and that should mitigate any risk he posed.
Apparently, you’re allowed to violate your parole in New Zealand.
Thomson, when asked about what he did to Emma Ferris, said he was living beyond his means
at the time and was trying to make a name for himself in New Zealand, and was in a bad
headspace, but that he really was looking for love.
He claims he won’t change his name again, and seems to accept the fact that dating is
no longer an option for him.
Given his in ability to resist conning, this doesn’t seem likely.
Emma, as of 2022, is still out of her $88,800 that Andrew owes her, and she feels like she’ll
never see it.
In order to heal, Emma and her sister created a podcast where she details her entire ordeal
in order to help herself heal and to help others who’ve gone through something similar.
Emma’s podcast, Conning the Con, goes further in depth into her experience, and is well
worth a listen.
Click to watch one of these next videos!
And let us know in the comment section whether or not you think scammers should be banned
from dating apps forever once they’re caught scamming!