175: [Tracy Hall] If It Is to Be, It Is up to Me // Part 2
What Came Next
Broken Cycle Media
4.4 • 627 Ratings
🗓️ 8 May 2026
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Content Warning: love fraud, intimate fraud, financial fraud, gun violence, and robbery.
Tracy Hall is a mother, author, speaker, business marketing expert, and victim of financial and intimate fraud from Australia. After a series of traumatic events and life changes, Tracy found herself unexpectedly single in her early 40’s. Although she had a full life, she sought an activity partner to grow with. That’s when she met Max Tavita, a Bondi Beach businessman with an active lifestyle and a deepening love for Tracy. Over the next year and a half, he would carefully cultivate a relationship that promised to fulfill all of Tracy’s romantic, personal, and even financial dreams. However, it would all come toppling down upon his December 2017 arrest, which brought the realization that Max - whose real name was Hamish - wasn’t who he said he was. Since navigating a long criminal justice process, sharing her story via podcast, book, and beyond, Tracy has made it her mission to bring awareness to the intricacies and stigmas of intimate fraud. The Broken Cycle Media team is immensely grateful for Tracy’s openness, expertise, and advocacy.
Tracy's Website: https://tracyhall.com.au/
Tracy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyleehall/
Tracy's Media Language Guide: https://tracyhall.com.au/resources
The Last Victim in paperback: https://amzn.to/4ngzQbn
The Last Victim in Audiobook: https://amzn.to/4tZhezx
Who the Hell is Hamish?: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/who-the-hell-is-hamish/id1451470931
Sources:
- “Conman Hamish McLaren Jailed for up to 16 Years after Swindling $7.6m from Victims.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 June 2019, www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/20/conman-hamish-mclaren-jailed-for-up-to-16-years-after-swindling-76m-from-victims
- “Early Appropriate Guilty Pleas.” The Law Society of New South Wales, www.lawsociety.com.au/resources/resources/my-practice-area/criminal-law/early-appropriate-guilty-pleas.
For a list of additional resources and related non-profit organizations, please visit http://www.somethingwaswrong.com/resources
Thank you again to Quince and Rula for sponsoring this episode. Don't forget to head to quince.com/wcn for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. And for quality therapy that's covered by insurance, don't forget to visit rula.com/wcn to get started. You deserve mental healthcare that works with you, not against your budget.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Thank you again to Quince and Rula for sponsoring this episode. |
| 0:04.3 | What Came Next is intended for mature audiences only. |
| 0:09.0 | Episodes discuss topics that can be triggering, |
| 0:11.7 | such as emotional, physical, and sexual violence, animal abuse, suicide, and murder. |
| 0:18.3 | I am not a therapist, nor am I a doctor. If you're in need of support, please visit |
| 0:23.7 | something was wrong.com forward slash resources for a list of non-profit organizations that can help. |
| 0:30.8 | Opinions expressed by my guests on the show are their own and do not necessarily represent the |
| 0:36.2 | views of myself or broken cycle media. |
| 0:39.5 | Resources and source material are linked in the episode notes. |
| 0:43.4 | Thank you so much for listening. Tracy Hall is a mother, author, speaker, business marketing expert, and victim of financial and intimate fraud from Australia. |
| 1:17.7 | After a series of traumatic events and life changes, Tracy found herself unexpectedly single in her early 40s. |
| 1:25.5 | Although she had a full life, she sought an activity partner to grow with. |
| 1:29.8 | That's when she met Max Tevita, a Bondi beach businessman with an active lifestyle and a |
| 1:35.9 | deepening love for Tracy. Over the next year and a half, he would carefully cultivate a |
| 1:41.0 | relationship that promised to fulfill all of Tracy's romantic, personal, |
| 1:46.1 | and even financial dreams. However, it would all come toppling down upon his December 2017 |
| 1:52.6 | arrest, which brought the realization that Max, whose real name was Hamish, wasn't who he said he was. |
| 2:03.7 | Since navigating a long criminal justice process and sharing her story via podcast, book, and beyond, Tracy has made it her mission to bring |
| 2:09.9 | awareness to the intricacies and stigmas of intimate fraud. The Broken Cycle Media team is |
| 2:16.0 | immensely grateful for Tracy's openness, expertise, and advocacy. |
| 2:25.4 | He pled guilty for swindling 15 Australian victims out of $7.6 million. And because he pleaded guilty, |
| 2:38.1 | none of the victims had to testify, which is good and bad. We never got to do a victim statement. I never got to stand up in front of him and tell him |
... |
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