Who the Hell is Hamish?

Who the Hell is Hamish?

He was born Hamish Watson, a surfie dude from Sydney – but he could morph into whatever you needed him to be. 

After pleading guilty to 18 charges, Hamish McLaren was sentenced in June 2020 to an aggregate sentence of 16 years in prison with a non-parole period of 12 years for 17 counts of fraud. He was given a fixed sentence of 7 years and 6 months for a single charge of money laundering, to be served concurrently. His overall sentence was reduced to 12 years imprisonment with a nine-year non-parole period on appeal in 2021.

McLaren was released in July 2026 after nine years behind bars.

These crimes are just the final pages in a resume too thick to staple; for decades he’s duped victims in the US, Canada, Britain, Hong Kong and Australia. How did he do it? How did he evade authorities around the world for so long and what’s he done with all those tens of millions of dollars he stole?

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Resumen del episodio

For years Hamish McLaren had evaded the law. But not any more. The brutal truth, like a runaway out-of-control limited edition Mercedes...

Episodios

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10: The Reckoning

For years Hamish McLaren had evaded the law. But not any more. The brutal truth, like a runaway out-of-control limited edition Mercedes...

11 ago. 2026
40-

9: Bonus: Jane

As a bonus for all listeners, we are publishing the full interview with Jane, recorded in her house north of Sydney. She speaks at leng...

11 ago. 2026
39-

8: The Definition of Evil

It may appear that Hamish got away with his schemes for decades. But he didn't. He kept getting caught out, time and again. It's self e...

11 ago. 2026
38-

7: On the Couch with Hamish

He killed off his parents, by air and by sea. He ran over his twin brother Phil, and killed him too. What are we to make of these fanci...

11 ago. 2026
37-

6: Kevin from Queensland Goes to Canada

Skiing was Hamish Watson's great love. Before he was a puffed-up futures trader in Sydney, he was a pumped-up muscle-bound ski instruct...

11 ago. 2026