
In the 1980s, John Friedrich led an elite sea and land rescue squad out of Victoria, winning an Order of Australia, top-secret government contracts and hundreds of millions of dollars in loans. But no one knew that John Friedrich was not who he made out to be, and his undoing revealed one of the most audacious scams in Australian history, an estimated $900 million in today’s value.
Australia was once home to an elite rescue squad led by John Friedrich, a powerful man hiding an extraordinary secret.
Marc Fennell investigates whether John Friedrich was just a con man or a secret agent in disguise. He uncovers the truth of a man who fooled a nation in the scam of a century.