Last night with his reputation in tatters Harrison O'Connor (also known as Dene Mussillon, Dene Broadbelt and Harrison Eyles) began packing to exit the tranquil south-west Victorian town and hopefully find somewhere else to prove he can make an honest man of himself.

Less than three weeks ago he arrived with grand plans to lease premises, hire staff and obtain goods and services.

Word got out about his past debts, well documented on numerous internet and social media sites.

By early this week he was the most talked about person in town as news of the unrest went national.

Prospective employees, landlords, business operators and tradespeople found his telephone and media links had abruptly been turned off.

Then a bizzare email statement on Tuesday night announced he had taken his own life on Saturday, raising suspicious he had faked it.

However, he's definitely alive and well, albeit emotionally bruised and seemingly disillusioned.

When quizzed by Fairfax Media yesterday about the suicide announcement sent to the radioinfo internet site with the name of Jason Blackford as the sender, Mr O'Connor said he had been an acquaintance, but they hadn't spoken since December 2012.

"It was quite a shock to know my death had been announced on radioinfo," he said.

"I am taking legal action,"Mr O'Connor blamed spokesman for the Dene Broadbelt Support Group for victims, Noel Sadler and other members, for continued attacks on his reputation.

"Everywhere I go he hounds me," Mr O'Connor said.

"I did have thoughts of taking my life because of the attacks.

"But I can tell you 100 per cent it wasn't me who put the suicide email out."

Mr O'Connor said despite all the debts listed against him he had not once been hauled before court.

"If I'd done something wrong I'd be arrested by now," he said.

"I will admit to racking up debts in the past, but I'm trying to move on with my life.

"However, people are not letting it go.

"My reputation in Timboon has been screwed.

"Everything's been taken out of proportion.

"Now I've got to leave town and find somewhere else."

He said his bankruptcy declaration in NSW in August last year with debts of about $250,000 enabled him to start afresh.

"I would have had the capacity to pay for the Timboon venture with backing from my family which wants to help me start again," he said.

"My bills would have been paid on time and I would have been happy to pay up front.

"People are took quick to make judgment - it's not just about what's out there on Google."

He does not hold a Victorian licence to run his proposed Coast and Country Real Estate business, but claims to have completed a diploma in property services in NSW and was planning to apply for a full Victorian real estate licence.

"It had been my dream for many years to run a real estate business, but now with all this blown up, I'm not sure if that's possible any more," he said.