Who the Hell is Hamish? podcast artwork
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Who the Hell is Hamish?

by The Australian
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About the show

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?

Latest episodes

  • 10: The Reckoning

    August 11, 2026 · 37 min

    For years Hamish McLaren had evaded the law. But not any more. The brutal truth, like a runaway out-of-control limited edition Mercedes McLaren, is bearing down on him. There's no escape. Judgement Day for Hamish McLaren has finally…

  • 9: Bonus: Jane

    August 11, 2026 · 1 hr 33 min

    As a bonus for all listeners, we are publishing the full interview with Jane, recorded in her house north of Sydney. She speaks at length about her experiences of Hamish, the impact it had on her life, and how she hopes to begin moving on…

  • 8: The Definition of Evil

    August 11, 2026 · 1 hr 6 min

    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 evident that many systems failed to apprehend this serial offender. How could this be so?   See…

  • 7: On the Couch with Hamish

    August 11, 2026 · 40 min

    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 fanciful stories Hamish made up about his life? We've called in experts. And we've gathered bevy of…

  • 6: Kevin from Queensland Goes to Canada

    August 11, 2026 · 51 min

    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 instructor, in Australia and Canada. The ski fields of Canada were his home away from home, a place where he…

  • 5: Who the Hell is Phil?

    August 11, 2026 · 42 min

    Hamish arrived on the floor of the Sydney Futures Exchange in the late 90s - he talked big, but they all knew he traded small. They called him a One Lot Wonder. And they all wondered where he got his cash. There were cars and boats and…

  • 4: The Intern

    August 11, 2026 · 41 min

    Jane was destined for big things. She was the great hope of her local school. She was in love with Jack, her teenage sweetheart. Life was sweet. Then, along came Hamish, promising an internship and a placement at Princeton. Two families…

  • 3: The Gatsby of the Great Lakes

    August 11, 2026 · 36 min

    Hamish arrived in sleepy Blueys Beach with a beautiful woman on his arm, and on the run from his past. Rumours of dark deeds wafted through in his wake. Then he met Bec Rosen. He'd shower her with love. They'd be married on the balcony of…