'Catch me if you can' con caught

An Australian woman suspected of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars by posing as a doctor, businesswoman, flight attendant and a mobster’s niece appeared in court today charged with more than 30 counts of fraud and theft.

Jody Harris, 28, was arrested early yesterday after an intense police search spanning three states. After a day of questioning, Harris was charged with 34 counts of obtaining money by deception and one count of larceny.

Harris appeared in Sydney’s Central Local Court today, and was ordered to remain in custody until August 1.

Police in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland states pursued the alleged impersonator thief for about four years, even releasing several security camera images of Harris to newspapers and television stations.

Nevertheless, the alleged thief eluded arrest for months, frequently changing her appearance and taunting police with repeated phone calls and false promises to surrender.

She has been dubbed the “Catch Me If You Can” thief after the 2002 film in which Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a smooth-talking con-man who robs his unwitting victims by pretending to be a doctor, a lawyer and an airline pilot.

Police allege Harris used a number of false identities to befriend unsuspecting women, then stole their drivers’ licenses and fooled bank staff into giving her access to their accounts.

Police claim that Harris, who was not immediately charged, fooled her alleged victims into believing she was a doctor, a businesswoman and the niece of a known underworld figure before stealing their identities and robbing them.

Police suspect that Harris may have also infiltrated an airline, saying they seized a Virgin Blue flight attendant’s uniform and name tag during a raid on a Sydney apartment where she recently lived.