A 72-year-old Tauranga woman, whose family is the victim of four Blue Chip property investment scams, is asking for the public's help as family members die and her unpayable debt grows.

In 2001 Margaret Rasmussen made a deposit with the Auckland Residential Property Trust of $192,000.

It was for an apartment in Auckland and followed dealings with trustee Mark Bryers – the founder of failed finance group Blue Chip.

Margaret Rasmussen is having a weary retirement, stressed by the spectre of unpayable mortgages on non-existent properties.

The apartment did not exist and her mortgage for it is now worth more than $300,000.

'They took our money, gave us nothing in return, promised us an apartment; they even took our money for chattels for the non-existent apartment on land they didn't even own – and said it was covered by insurance, which it wasn't, and now they want to take my house,” says Margaret.

When she confronted the trust, part of the Blue Chip group, she says she was told the apartment would be built in 90 days or she would get her money back.

She then approached the Auckland City Council.

'When we went to the Auckland City Council they said they never even put in for a building permit.”

Her efforts to reacquire the money have come to naught and she is claiming foul play in the dealings with Blue Chip.

'They have stolen my money and when we went to the Serious Fraud Squad they said they couldn't find any fraud.”

Margaret claims to have evidence to the contrary.

'I've got papers where they have taken my signature off one and put it onto another and they tell me that's legal because they call it an electronic signature.

'Mum was put down as a professional investor at 88, and I was put down as an investor, but I wasn't professional, and they just put whatever they liked down – I didn't even get to see any of the papers.”

Margaret bears the burden of two Blue Chip properties, her own and her mother's, which has a mortgage of over $400,000 owing.

Her brother and daughter-in-law's mother are also bearers of Blue Chip debt.

These mortgages are held with Advantedge, which has given Margaret until March to pay-up on, or it will seize her other property.

The emotional strain of this financial burden is taking its toll on Margaret and her family with her husband dying in 2011, and then just two weeks later her brother dying also.

Her mother and uncle both died soon after.

'They (Advantedge) are going to start putting in process proceedings and my doctor wrote a letter saying ‘I'm not in a fit state because I've had four of my family die this year (2011)'.”

The doctor's letter to Advantedge expressed how Margaret is ‘not fit to make decisions', but this effort appears forlorn.

'They've said they're not listening to him – so they want to go ahead anyway.”

Margaret is seeking the public's support in her plight and is asking people to begin a letter writing campaign.

'Everybody needs to write to the government or to Winston Peters, or somebody who is going to do something; or Simon Bridges, Brendan Horan, any of them.

'I would like them to have a lot of letters to try and make them do something because we have been fighting for three years.”

Margaret says earlier attempts to secure help from Prime Minister John Key, then Justice Minister Simon Power, and Tauranga MP Simon Bridges all failed.

'They all just say they can't do anything.”

But she is optimistic with enough letters they will be forced to help.

There are about 800 people affected by Blue Chip scams and Margaret says they are all in regular contact.

Bryers escaped a prison sentence in 2010 when he pleaded guilty to 34 charges related to mismanagement and improper accounting at Blue Chip.

He was sentenced to 75 hours of community work and to pay a fine of $33,750.

When Blue Chip collapsed in 2008 it owed about 3000 investors more than $80 million.