Australian Con-Artist Gets 100th Charge Pretending to be a Human Trafficking Victim

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Federal agents formed the suspicion that the “14-year-old French girl” was part of a human trafficking and sexual servitude ring. She said she spoke only French but then refused to engage with a French-speaking officer.

After nine hours of extensive investigations, authorities became suspicious and fingerprinted the “teen” to learn she was actually known con artist Samantha Azzopardi.

Although she claimed her name was Emily Bamberger (a former victim of her cons), the 33-year-old has been charged under the surname Azzapadari. Police confirmed the con artist has used more than 40 known aliases.

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The charges follow a disturbing and prolonged pattern of behavior for which Azzopardi has earned international infamy. In documents tendered to the court, police state she is a “global and interstate con artist” whose “notoriety has been widely reported”.

The 33-year-old made global headlines in 2013 when she was found wandering the streets of Dublin in Ireland.

She led Irish police to believe she was the victim of a human trafficking ring, which led to a widespread investigation that wasted more than €300,000.

A few years later, she was arrested after telling police in Canada that she was a victim of sexual exploitation and trafficking.

The serial con artist told Calgary police that she was a 14-year-old girl who had been abducted and subjected to ongoing sexual abuse. Canadian authorities wasted more than $150,000 on looking into the claims.

The 33-year-old was charged and deported from both countries after her claims were proven to be false.

However, Australian authorities have also fallen prey to Azzopardi’s lies. The court documents show this new charge will be the 100th charge laid against her in numerous jurisdictions across the country.

Azzopardi was jailed in May 2021 for at least 12 months after being convicted of stealing two children after being hired as a nanny under a false name. Two months after she was released, she lied about being a victim of sexual assault in Sydney.

At the time of her sentencing for her lies in May, the court heard Azzopardi is living with anxiety, depression, and established borderline personality disorder.

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