In life, when something is given, it can just as easily be taken away. What I am to describe to you was one of the most difficult periods of my family’s life in Australia. It was July 2011 when I came back home after a grueling examination period in my medical course. I had completed the 3rd year of medical school in Hungary and for the students there, this symbolised a great milestone in graduating as a doctor.

So much joy within me was expressed on my face as I greeted my parents at the airport. Yet as I gazed into the eyes of my father, I saw a hollowed look of sorrow etched inside of his soul. He held so much sadness, yet tried his best to hide it so that I could concentrate on my studies. He cared so much for me that despite his own fears and worries, I would not be affected by it. But some things cannot be hidden, no matter how hard we may try.

Following the days of my arrival back home, it became apparent to me that something had gone wrong. The calm feeling and comfort of having a viable business that gave us financial stability, disappeared. It was replaced with anxiety and uncertainty of the future. What had transpired was that the financial adviser who had frequently shared meals at our home, had led my parents into unrecoverable debt. Banks from all over the country had been ringing the phones and threatened to take our home.

It was revealed to me that my dad had attempted to take his own life after one day receiving a call from a bank. All the while I was in Hungary, and I was oblivious. It was then I raised the question, “who was this financial adviser?” Who was this man that we had welcomed into our home with so much trust and love? The answers slowly became evident. A letter came through in the mail with forged signatures, requesting payment of a second loan taken against our home that my parents never knew about. It was the final shock that triggered us to wake up.

What happened to my family can only be described as a financial catastrophe. My parents had entrusted a financial adviser, to manage their finances and make investments in property development. Over 6 years, my parents had loans and credit in their name from nearly every bank in the country. My dad’s retirement funds had also been emptied out. In discovering the level of debt my parents had found themselves in, the thought came to me that I should investigate what was going on. The first thing I actually did was to go and see a psychic. Even though I was not so consciously aware of life when I was younger, I still hoped that maybe people were able to contact the spirit world and help guide me in life. The psychic told me that this adviser was a conman who had deeper connections to places overseas.

A quick search of his name on Google revealed to me who this man was. The more research I did, the deeper the hole went. An intricate system of lawyers, conveyancers, real estate agents, and accountants worked together across the country to manipulate hard working, lower education families into giving up their finances in hope of a better life. This man in particular, had been doing this for 20-30 years, working through different areas across the state of Victoria, to con families into giving up their life savings. He would then leave them in a legal mess, and move on to the next family knowing that no-one would be able to prosecute him. I discovered a trail that extended into underworld links and corruption at the highest level. Yet to prove these things becomes immensely difficult.

All of a sudden, my family had to come to terms with losing a home and living on the streets. I found myself wondering whether I would ever become a doctor. The life my parents had dreamed of and worked so hard to manifest, was now lost, and with it gained an uncertainty of the future.