Dean James McCauley photographed at an earlier sentencing. The judge presiding over his current offending refused to allow photos to be taken in court of the prolific fraudster. Photo / Greg Bowker
A recidivist scammer who targets vulnerable elderly women, with more than 36 convictions, is back behind bars after fleecing two Auckland pensioners - one whom was recovering from a severe stroke.
Dean James McAuley has been before the courts numerous times for scamming - and when he was last sentenced, the Herald reported the judge who jailed him described him as “a menace” who “ruthlessly exploited” elderly women.
For his latest attacks on the elderly, he will spend more than two years behind bars.
Court documents provided to the Herald outline McAuley’s offending against two women in early 2022.
Given the victims’ ages and health, the Herald has chosen not to publish their names.
The first woman - Mrs C - was targeted in March 2022.
The 81-year-old lives alone in Auckland. McAuley approached her at home and told her her house “was due for a wash” and her deck needed painting, and offered his services.
Police said McAuley “talked a lot and confused the victim”, who agreed to go and withdraw $1500 from a nearby ATM machine.
McAuley took the money and “disappeared quickly, having done a minimum amount of cleaning.
“The next day he went back for about 30 minutes and again, little work was done. He returned on 24/3/2022 and requested more money.
“The victim went to the ATM but took McAuley with her because she did not want to leave him alone in her house.
“She handed him between $600 and $800. Once he had received the money he again took off in a hurry.”
McAuley later called Mrs C several times claiming “hardship” and at that point, she realised she was being scammed.
He turned up at her home again the next day but was met by Mrs C’s neighbour who told him to leave and not come back.
On March 29 2022 McAuley approached Mrs N while she was out in her garden.
She also lived alone and had only recently returned home after suffering a severe stroke and spending a lengthy stint in hospital and recovering with family.
McAuley told the 80-year-old he could clean her eaves and roof and she agreed and paid him $520.
A week later McAuley cleaned part of her house but no further work was done.
“McAuley started asking the victim for money due to hardship and said he needed financial assistance,” said police.
“Between 31 March and 7 April, he spoke to the victim either in person or on the phone and gave her many reasons why he needed the money - these included being behind in rent and car payments, insurance etc.
“After she helped him a person called the victim using the defendant’s phone number posing as his bank manager and asking for payments. In total, the victim made 29 transactions for $11,900.
“Some of the transactions McAuley even accompanied the victim.”
Mrs N told police she “felt scared and felt forced to give him the money” as she was worried about the consequences if she did not pay him.
When spoken to police McAuley stated that Mrs N “just kept on giving him money as she liked helping people and it was not his fault”.
On April 14 2022 McAuley was arrested and charged with two representative counts of causing financial loss to the two pensioners by deception.
A representative charge means police believe a person has committed multiple offences of the same type in similar circumstances.
He was held in custody but released on electronically monitored bail in May 2023.
He then failed to appear in court in July and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
McAuley was finally located and appeared in court again in September where he was again granted EM bail.
In March he sought a sentence indication and finally pleaded guilty to the charges.
He was sentenced by Judge Anna Fitzgibbon in the North Shore District Court last month.
Judge Fitzgibbon revealed McAuley had 36 previous convictions for causing loss by deception and he was assessed as having a high risk of reoffending.
“The factors that the report writer considered contributed to your offending were your attitudes, lifestyle, lack of consequential thinking, finance, and offending supportive attitude,” said the judge.
“You have been sentenced to many terms of imprisonment. However, this has not been effective in your risk of re-offending.”
The court heard McAuley also had issues with alcohol abuse.
Judge Fitzgibbon spoke about the impact McAuley’s offending had on his elderly victims who she said were “both single and both had difficult situations.
“One had been widowed since 2013 and had been living on her own since that time. In 2021, she suffered a severe stroke, spent over two months in hospital, then temporarily moved in with (family) for a few months who nursed her to recovery.
“She was keen to get back into her own home and was extremely proud that she was going to do that.
“She did suffer from some mild impairment from the stroke, but she did get back to a reasonable amount of independence and the comfort of her own home.”
Judge Fitzgibbon said McAuley worked hard to “befriend” the woman and put her under “immense and frightening” pressure to give him money - telling her at one stage he would kill himself if she stopped the cashflow.
“She was fearful that you might harm yourself. She began to hand over a lot of money to you, and she did not want to share this situation with her daughter, she was ashamed.
“So, the amount of money grew and she started having problems sleeping. Her stroke symptoms flared back up again, affecting her ability to work and coordinate her thoughts.”
The woman avoided a family birthday because she could not afford to buy a present due to the amount she had loaned McAuley and her fear he would harm himself if she did not have more to give him.
The woman said in a Victim Impact Statement that she felt “coerced” by McAuley.
“As each day passed, I continued to detach myself from family and friends and my anxiety and stress over the situation with Dean became utterly unbearable,” she said.
“I felt unsafe in my own home and I was tearful all the time and not coping.
“Since this whole event happened to me, I have not left the house, only with my family or a friend. When anyone knocks on the door, I instantly ring my daughter.”
Judge Fitzgibbon said the woman felt “sheer relief” when she was finally able to tell her family what had been happening.
“She feels that she failed her family, and she is scared that you will return and she feels unsafe,” she said.
“She feels the whole ordeal has dramatically affected her mental health. She will never be the same again.”
Judge Fitzgibbon said Mrs C “cannot believe how foolish she has been”.
“She was trying to be kind and to help you,” she told McAuley in the dock.
“She would hate this to happen to any other vulnerable people… and often worries about other vulnerable people.”
McAuley wrote a letter of apology ahead of sentenicng which Judge Fitzgibbon read in court.
He acknowledged he stood before her due to his own “stupidity and actions.
“Which not only have affected my victims but also my friends and family,” the scammer claimed.
“I have realised my wrongdoings and have sought rehabilitation to address reoccurrences. I sincerely apologise for my offending, ask for forgiveness, and seek restorative justice.
“I take full responsibility and the consequences upon sentencing.”
Judge Fitzgibbon said McAuley had a “long criminal history of dishonesty offending - including while on bail.
“The offending, in this case, has seriously impacted two elderly and vulnerable women, both living alone… and you have got no money now to be able to pay anything back to these two people who are towards the end of their lives and have the right to be able to enjoy their money in their own homes,” she said.
“Imprisonment is the only option for you.”
She sentenced McAuley to one year and nine months in prison for each charge which will be served concurrently.
She ordered he be subject to release conditions for the first six months he is back in the community.
Police had sought a reparation order of $14,000 for the victims.
But Judge Fitzgibbon said it was clear McAuley could not pay that amount.
“But I am going to make a reparation order of $5000 for both victims - which is well less than the $14,000 between them that is owed,” she said.
“Five thousand, when you have, some employment that might be something that you can pay back.”
Mrs N’s daughter spoke to the Herald after sentencing.
She said she was shocked when her mother finally told her what had been going on and said she felt terribly guilty for not picking up on anything - but her mother had hidden it well.
“When she finally rang me she broke down in tears and she was scared and didn’t know how to get out of it - he just rang her and rang her and rang her and rang her,” she said.
“She’d kept all the receipts and when she added up what she had given him she knew it was getting out of control.
“We rang him and my husband told him ‘this has got to stop’ and that he had been stealing from mum. He said ‘can we meet’ and he turned up at mum’s the next day.
“He admitted stealing the money and we went straight to the police.”
She said they only knew McAuley’s first name but it did not take long for police to work out who had scammed Mrs N.
The police indicated McAuley was a known offender and when the family searched his name on the internet they were appalled.
“I just felt sick - I felt that I should have protected mum, I felt a lot of guilt,” Mrs N’s daughter said.
“He was such a good conman that he never made her feel frightened or upset, but she started to get scared because the money was starting to add up.”
Mrs N’s daughter said there was no way her family would engage in the restorative justice meeting McAuley had suggested in his apology letter.
The letter itself meant nothing to them.
“He’s just full of sh*t - he’s just told the court what he thinks they want to hear, I believe 100 per cent he is going to do this again,” her daughter said.
Mrs N brings up the offending “every so often” and feels ashamed and stupid for falling for McAuley.
“I say to her ‘it’s only money mum’ and I tell her ‘you made a mistake and you’re not going to do it again’.
“She just thinks she was so stupid and so gullible but I remind her that the stroke changed her and affected her thought process.”
Mrs N now calls her daughter whenever anyone comes to the house.
She said people looking after elderly relatives should be vigilant and talk to them as much as possible about who was visiting and calling them and teach them about scams.
McAuley was ringing Mrs N from the same cellphone number claiming to be a bank manager and landlord - as well as himself - and she did not realise.
Her mother wasn’t as tech savvy as others and given McAuley put on different voices - quite believable portrayals of other people - she didn’t question it.
“He targeted her, he was ringing her three times a night giving all these sob stories…” said Mrs N’s daughter.
“When she realised, she was embarrassed, she was ashamed, she did not know how to stop him.”
In 2013 the Herald reported McAuley’s sentencing by Judge Roy Wade in the North Shore District Court.
The court heard McAuley “combed” Auckland looking for frail and vulnerable elderly women to con.
He was charged in relation to ripping off two victims aged 85 and 87.
“It is abundantly plain to me that you need to be detained,” Judge Wade said.
“Members of the community, particularly vulnerable elderly ladies, need to be protected from you.
“[McCauley] is a menace to elderly women and the sooner his picture is put out in the media so those who are potentially affected by him in the future are aware, the better.”
Judge Wade outlined McAuley’s criminal history to date.
In 2009, he was sentenced to community work and ordered to pay reparation in August, and then October for similar offending. In December 2010, he was jailed for seven months.
“It seems to be in his nature; this is how he gets by in life,” the police prosecutor said at the sentencing hearing.
“He has 12 previous convictions for similar offending against the same type of people - elderly women - in exactly the same way. He wasn’t long out of prison for those offences when he carried out the current offending.”
August 2009: Convicted of six charges of obtaining money from elderly women by deception.
October 2009: Convicted of three charges of obtaining money from elderly women by deception.
December 2010: Jailed on three charges of obtaining money from elderly women by deception.
January 2012: Starts offending against North Shore 87-year-old Ms F, conning her out of $21,558.
April 2012: Starts offending against Avondale 85-year-old Ms G, conning her out of more than $2000.
March 2013: Convicted by Judge Roy Wade after a defended hearing in the North Shore District Court.
July 2013: Sentenced to three years and four months in prison.
March 2022: Targets two elderly women in Auckland, telling them their homes needed to be cleaned and taking large sums of money from them
April 2022: McAuley is arrested and charged with two representative counts of obtaining money from the pensioners by deception
September 2023: After a long court process including months where McAuley went AWOL while on bail and failed to appear in court, he is jailed for one year and nine months for each of the charges. The sentences are to be served concurrently and he will have conditions imposed upon his release to further protect the community.
If you are concerned about the offending of Dean McAuley or similar offending - either affecting yourself or a family member or friend - please contact the police.
To find your local police station - click here.
Or, dial the non-emergency phone number 105 for help.
Police have lengthy advice on how to protect yourself and elderly loved ones from being scammed. Click here to find out more.
Their advice includes:
Further information about types of scams and how to avoid being targeted can be found at:
Police say they are following lines of inquiry to catch the offender.