Serial conman Peter Foster arrested after six months on the run
Serial conman Peter Foster has been uncovered hiding out in regional Victoria, bringing his six months on the run to an end.
An arrest warrant in Queensland was issued for the 59-year-old on May 20th, after Peter failed to appear that day in a Sydney court over an alleged multi-million-dollar Bitcoin scam.
His electronic monitoring device, which was a strict condition of his bail, also stopped sending out a signal.
Federal police finally caught up with Foster on Tuesday near the Macedon Ranges town of Gisborne, northwest of Melbourne.
“The AFP Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team and Queensland Police have worked together for six months to find this man and some dogged detective work has allowed us to make this arrest today,” Australian Federal Police Commissioner Richard Chin said.
Foster was initially arrested in Port Douglas in August 2020 on 15 different fraud-related charges in New South Wales.
The series of charges were in relation to allegations that he extricated 120 Bitcoin, worth more than $1.7 million at the time, from a Hong Kong man in 2019 and 2020.
After being granted strict bail in March, he failed to show up for court appearances and started his life on the run.
When a new arrest warrant was issued by Queensland police, Foster's lawyer told a Brisbane court that Peter would hand himself in and please not guilty.
According to Peter's lawyer, Chris Hannay, Foster was a “charismatic crook” and a “charismatic good bloke” but “not the villain in this”.
Image credits: Youtube - 7News