One half of a pair of glamorous cousins is breathing easier after being cleared by a jury of blackmailing her family business partner.
Vicki Vlahos and her assistant Milad Ghazi were found not guilty in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Thursday of blackmailing Vicki's younger cousin Danielle Vlahos for nearly $4 million.
The cousins co-founded the fashion label Portia & Scarlett, which has achieved incredible success in Australia and overseas and was being eyed by a buyer for millions of dollars.
In 2023, the label was dressing contestants in the Miss Universe beauty pageant.
Vicki was accused of blackmailing her cousin by threatening to reveal an affair she had with Vicki's ex-husband Issac Chami.
The court was told Vicki was threatening to tell Danielle's estranged husband about the affair but she would keep quiet for $3.8 million.
The sum was the difference between the first offer for a share of the business which was not accepted and a later offer, the court was told.
"You need to pay me $4.3 million minus $900,000 to be able to live in Sydney freely and without wrecking your entire life and reputation," the older cousin allegedly told Danielle.
During the trial, Vicki's barrister Tom Hughes had grilled Danielle on whether she had engaged in criminal behaviour to maximise advantage over her older cousin.
After Vicki was charged with blackmail in 2025, Mr Hughes said Mr Chami articulated a plan to delay or prevent Danielle, the key witness, testifying in Vicki's trial in exchange for favours.
Mr Hughes argued part of the alleged conspiracy to pervert justice involved procuring a fraudulent mental health assessment to delay Danielle testifying against Vicki.
"When it comes closer to the date we could do a psychiatric report saying she's (Danielle) not ready to stand on the stand," Mr Chami allegedly said to Vicki on a telephone call, which Danielle denies hearing.
Danielle Vlahos denies being involved with the alleged plot.
The jury took just under four-and-a-half hours to decide Vicki Vlahos and Mr Ghazi were not guilty of the blackmail.
Vicki cut a glamorous figure during the trial, arriving at the courthouse in a luxury Maserati car and clutching both a Chanel handbag and a tote from Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad.
