SHANE Warne's ex-wife Simone Callahan was allegedly tricked into pre-arranged paparazzi photoshoots by her new boyfriend, who accepted money from photographers to stage romantic moments.
Boyfriend Toby Roberts, a then-unemployed ex-model, was paid by an intermediary in 2011 on behalf of paparazzo Jamie Fawcett to bring Ms Callahan, 42, to pre-arranged settings including Bondi in Sydney.
The encounters were photographed by Fawcett and his then business partner Ben McDonald, who sold the photographs to New Idea and Woman's Day.
FAKEARAZZI: The full story on the secret celeb deals
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal several Australian celebrities accept cash or holidays in deals with photographers who sell faked "pap-shots" to glossy magazines.
Former Spice Girl Mel B, model Lara Bingle, singer Delta Goodrem and her ex-boyfriend Brian McFadden have all accepted inducements to pose for paparazzi despite the fact they frequently complain about privacy invasions.
Bingle and Danny Cipriani are said to have received an estimated $30,000 from Big Australia for "romantic" shots of them in Bora Bora.
The intermediary in the Callahan photographs is understood to be Mr Roberts's old school friend, Today Tonight's Melbourne reporter Jonathan Creek.
Mr Roberts, 38, failed to respond to more than 10 approaches for comment on the detailed allegations, while Fawcett, McDonald and Creek denied any involvement.
But a well-placed source has provided a statutory declaration on the transactions.
This newspaper has also seen documentary proof of the deals.
At home in Melbourne this week Ms Callahan said she was shocked to hear of the claims.
"I saw the pictures in the magazines (at the time) but I had no idea about any of this," Ms Callahan said.
"I just assumed that because we were out in Bondi there are lots of photographers around." The mother-of-three said she loved Mr Roberts but was "unsure" if they would marry.
She said she had a good recollection of his financial situation. "Toby wasn't working at the time, no."
She added: "None of this is very nice to hear."
The magazines paid $52,000 for the images, with the first set, taken at Mr Wolf sushi restaurant in Melbourne on February 9, 2011, selling to New Idea for $10,000.
Half of that sum went to Creek via a bank account held in the name of Tune In Media, which he runs with his wife Brittany Creek.
The money was paid by Oceanic Media Group, a now-defunct agency run by Fawcett and McDonald.
The second set, taken on March 4, 5 and 6 at North Bondi and Tamarama, became a Woman's Day spread on March 21, 2011.
The story said the pair were "smitten" and appeared as "lovestruck teens". Roberts, the article said, was "a tall, dark and handsome model-turned business manager with a body to swoon over".
Woman's Day paid $42,000, of which 50 per cent went to Mr Roberts and Creek.
Mr Roberts, who now runs an orthotic pelvic cushion business, has not returned more than 10 text, email and phone approaches.
Fawcett initially said: "I know nothing about these pictures." He later rang to say he had taken photographs but no deal had been struck with Mr Roberts.
"You can't write this story about this bloke, how would he look," Fawcett said. "The damage you'd do would be terrible and would make you a c***. You would also make (Mr Roberts) look like a c*** and I don't think he is a c***.
"You would create so many problems if you wrote this story."
Within an hour of this newspaper visiting Ms Callahan on Thursday, Fawcett telephoned the newspaper. "Don't go breaking up a happy home," he said.
He admitted knowing Creek and said Creek and his wife had once provided him "guerrilla marketing advice".
Asked if he had spoken to Creek about Mr Roberts, Fawcett said: "Gee, I may have. He was on the Shane and Simone story. I can't recall, don't think so. Good on you, I have to go."
McDonald would not comment, while Creek said he met Fawcett once outside Ms Callahan's home while working on a story.
Asked if he had spoken to Fawcett in recent days, he responded: "I don't know."
Creek said the $26,000 paid to Tune In Media was for his wife to "maybe provide media strategy to (Oceanic) ... it's not my business to get involved in my wife's business".
"I really don't know what you are talking about."
Asked about emails from his address to Oceanic at the time of the shoots, Creek said they were sent by his wife.
It is believed Roberts never dealt directly with paparazzi.
Celebrities allegedly make deals worth between $10 million and $20 million per year in a bid to control their images.
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