Former radio announcer and notorious conman Dene Broadbelt has been caught out in a strange attempt to fake his own death, via an email sent out to various media organisations this week.
Broadbelt is a 21-year-old man who has used several alias over time in a string of alleged scams and unpaid debts across various industries in Australia, including several dubious ventures in the music industry. He was implicated last year as the man responsible for the “scam” Infinity Music Festival in Darwin.
He resurfaced again this week, when it was reported by The Standard, that he had been spotted in the Victorian Timboon region trying to recruit staff for a real estate venture under one of his aliases Harrison O’Connor.
According to The Standard two men he was trying to recruit clued into his actual identity and confronted him on Monday evening via social media, soon after which his telephone number was disconnected and his Facebook page closed.
Then, in another bizarre turn of events, several media outlets, including Music Feeds, received an email on Tuesday from “Jason Blackford” announcing, “the sad news that Dene Broadbelt died unexpectedly on Saturday night when he took his own life. There is to be a memorial service held ASAP”.
The email also stated that a Broadbelt had left a suicide note with the words, “Noel Sadler was the reason behind this and he will get his day and I’ve made sure of that”. It bizarrely ended with a link to a Google search of the Dene Broadbelt name.
Reports The Standard, the claims made in the email about Broadbelt’s death on Saturday night were refuted by the previous reports that he had been spotted conducting interviews in the Timboon region as well as engaging on social media on Monday this week. His whereabouts now is unknown.
Noel Sadler, the man personally named by Broadbelt in his apparent suicide letter, is actually a member of the Dene Broadbelt Support Group for victims. He told Music Feeds he thinks the email was a “fake” and was concocted by Broadbelt himself.
“I got a phone call from a young lady who knows the girls that are involved in this real estate business down in Victoria, and this is before the note became public about the potential suicide of Dene Broadbelt. They told me they had just spoken to him the day before, the Monday, then that night here comes the email that he had committed suicide on the Saturday night. It’s obviously a fake,” said Sadler.
“Knowing Dene as well as I know him now, it’s just another way of him trying to put people off his track.” When asked why he thinks his name was mentioned in the email sent around, Sadler says it’s because he has promised Broadbelt directly that he will continue to stay on his trail and expose his deceits.
He says the group he is a part of has 118 active members, many of whom have been directly affected by Broadbelt or one of his “scams”.
“What the group tries to do is to keep exposing him in the media or wherever it needs to be to help prevent other people being ripped off by him.” He added that they also want Broadbelt to seek professional help.
“He’s not even stopping when he gets caught out, so if he wasn’t being exposed, God knows what he’d get up to.”
Broadbelt’s previous aliases include Dene Mussillon, Dene Morgan, Harrison Eyles, Harrison O’Connor and Clay O’Connor. Last year, it was reported that Broadbelt was behind a “scam” music festival in Darwin with many past business associates claiming he had conned them out of thousands of dollars.
Later in they year it was reported that Broadbelt was operating under the name of Harrison O’Connor in the Sydney-based Paramount Agency & Touring, deceiving artists on the roster and his employees of his actual identity.
He has also been accused of being involved in a variety of other “scams” leaving behind unpaid debts, including a limousine company who is owed thousands of dollars, a major hotel a Wollongong photography company and a Queensland photographer.
It has been reported that Broadbelt has successfully applied for bankruptcy and has debts listed of about $250,000.
For help or information call Lifeline 131 114 or beyondblue 1300 224 636.
