It had all the makings of a Hollywood film.
There were more than 100 overseas trips, Swiss bank accounts and gold bullion.
There were the lies about being the adopted son of foreign presidents and the ones about the United Nations owing millions for the restoration of democracy in an African country.
There was even a last-minute dash by police to the airport to apprehend a fraudster before he boarded a plane to Singapore with a one-way ticket under a false name, and a court case filled with twists and turns.
Sadly, though, the story of Kakanui fraudster James Lindon Graham lacks a happy ending, and is more analogous to recent stories in The Wall Street Journal than tales on the silver screen.
The serial conman was jailed in September for three years and two months after pleading guilty to stealing more than $1.6 million over 10 years in a staggering catalogue of offences, including 43 counts of false pretences causing execution of valuable security, 15 counts of false pretences procuring delivery of something capable of being stolen, 37 counts of deception causing loss, three counts of attempted deception and one count of obtaining credit by deception.
His mostly elderly victims were resigned to not getting their money back after just $6270 was recovered by police - an "insulting" amount for which Judge Brian Callaghan decided against issuing a reparation order.
While some would argue that justice was never truly served, the situation almost certainly would have been worse was it not for the work of Detective Kevin Kirkman, who was honoured with a bronze medal award on Monday for heading the four-year investigation.
The citation accompanying the award explains how Det Kirkman commenced "Operation Emu" on July 5, 2007, after he was made aware of the offender's fraudulent activities in the North Otago area.
It explains how Det Kirkman arrested Graham at Auckland airport on July, 30, 2009, as he attempted to leave the country.
The arrest kick-started an intensive investigation with Det Kirkman working exclusively on the file, which required a significant amount of financial analysis, for two years.
The citation reads: "The detective's attention to detail, meticulous record keeping and dedication achieved an outstanding result in terms of the prosecution and success of the operation.
"He worked with many reluctant witnesses and victims, and through his dedication, commitment and professionalism gained their trust and ultimately had them give evidence in court."
Senior Constable Craig Sew Hoy, Snr Const Ruth Perham, Snr Const Anton Perham and Snr Const Stefan Witehira were also awarded long service and good conduct medals for 14 years' service.
