Melissa Caddick’s father-in-law has denied any involvement in the conwoman’s financial fraud scheme after his signature was forged on several documents.
Rodo Koletti, the father of Caddick’s husband Anthony, broke his silence on 60 Minutes on Sunday night to clear his name of any wrongdoing in his daughter-in-law’s theft of more than $25million of investors’ funds.
Mr Koletti, appearing with only part of his face shown to hide his identity, said he has been the target of defamation in the wake of Caddick’s deception.
‘I think the whole Melissa Caddick thing has taken on a life of its own,’ he said.
‘It would appear that some people have taken it upon themselves to throw assertions, fraudulent statements, lies… you know, defamation of all sorts against myself, my character and my profession, which is just what I could not stand for.
When presented with a document purporting to show his signature, Mr Koletti revealed it had been forged
Rodo Koletti, the father of Caddick’s husband Anthony, appeared with only part of his face shown to hide his identity. He said he has been the target of defamation in the wake of Caddick’s deception
Mr Koletti, who believes his son is in denial, denied claims he killed Caddick or had any involvement in masterminding her financial fraud (Caddick with her husband Anthony Koletti)
Mr Koletti, who believes his son is in denial, denied claims he killed Caddick or had any involvement in masterminding her financial fraud.
He also said he didn’t think his hairdresser son was capable of helping Caddick rip off her family and friends, who had invested their nest eggs in her business Maliver.
‘Anthony’s a damn good hairdresser, but I don’t believe he has the capacity to know what a financial scheme is,’ he said.
‘I don’t think he could have been in it at all, or known what was going on.
‘When I spoke with him he certainly didn’t [know of Caddick’s fraudulence]. He believed everything she told him.’
Mr Koletti was unwittingly implicated in Caddick’s scheme by his signature being forged to verify bogus documents.
He also knocked back claims he had ever done any work with Maliver.
When presented with a document purporting to show his signature, Mr Koletti revealed it had been forged.
‘That is not my signature… if you see my signature, it’s very distinctive, and that is not it. Not mine,’ he said.
In January, Mr Koletti said his 39-year-old son believes the businesswoman had done ‘nothing wrong’.
Mr Koletti was unwittingly implicated in Caddick’s scheme by his signature being forged to verify bogus documents
Her decomposed foot in a rare Asics shoe was found 400km away from her home on Bournda Beach on February 21
Pictured: Melissa Caddick and her husband Anthony Koletti before she went missing on November 12
‘It’s very traumatic for him, he stopped seeing his family when they got together, it has divided us,’ Rodo Kolleti told the Daily Telegraph.
‘I’ve seen her four or five times in eight years, she didn’t want anything to do with us.’
Members of a Facebook discussion group dedicated to the baffling mystery have poured over every facet of Caddick’s life since she disappeared in November, including ‘investigating’ her husband Anthony Koletti’s family.
This led Mr Koletti to lash out at some spurious claims made about his loved ones and he even threatened to call in his lawyers.
‘I feel sorry that Melissa is missing, but also feel very sorry for the innocent people who may have been “defrauded” of their hard earned life savings,’ he said at the time.
Some users also wrongly dragged Mr Koletti’s work as a respected tax agent in Riverwood, in Sydney’s south, into the case.
He said the comments made about the family were ‘just plain lies and inaccurate’. Mr Koletti warned he was ‘seeking legal counsel’ over the false claims published to the Facebook group, which has more than 1,300 followers.
The smear campaign against Caddick’s father-in-law comes after a woman, who nearly invested money with the businesswoman, revealed she decided against it after meeting up with her and feeling something was ‘a little off’.
The Sydney woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said after discussing finances over lunch with the conwoman, she was given a ‘very odd response’ when she asked about her trading approach.
Caddick vanished the day after corporate watchdog ASIC executed a search warrant at her luxury Dover Heights home on November 11.
Her decomposed foot in a rare Asics shoe was found 400km away from her home on Bournda Beach on February 21 and police confirmed over the weekend they had now called off the search for the 49-year-old.
While detectives say the fraudster may have taken her own life, the woman who had lunch with Caddick believes something more sinister may have been at play.
She told The Daily Telegraph she had a theory that Caddick had been ‘influenced by a larger criminal cartel that operated’ and suggested she may have been ‘abducted’.
‘It would be those that she may have had ties to through larger criminal activity,’ the woman said.
Caddick’s father in law was unwittingly implicated in Caddick’s scheme by his signature being forged to verify bogus documents. Pictured with her husband Anthony
Divers have stopped looking for the remains of the 49-year-old financial adviser after searching over 6,000sq/m in the water off Dover Heights in Sydney’s east on Friday
‘She is not the type to suicide and she is not that mischievous or particularly ingenious to come up with the financial scheme idea on her own.’
In text messages between the pair, Ms Caddick is seen asking the woman to meet up and telling her she had been investing with private clients at the time.
‘Will talk to you about what I do, service offer and fees – it’s very transparent,’ Caddick said in a text.
The woman said she feels like she ‘dodged a bullet’ after deciding not to hand over any money to Caddick.
The fraudster is suspected of fleecing $25million from 60 investors – who all fell for her sales pitch that she would make them huge returns – and splurging the money on designer clothing, jewellery and overseas trips.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing earlier told reporters foul play against Caddick was possible but suicide was more likely.
Authorities raided her $6.2million Dover Heights mansion on November 11 (pictured is bodycam footage of the raid)