Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Alex Mitchell

Caddick's fraud victims get compensation, more to flow

Melissa Caddick plundered $23 million from family and friends via an investment scam. (HANDOUT/NSW POLICE)

Victims of notorious fraudster Melissa Caddick have received their biggest chunk of compensation to date, with liquidators confident there will be more to come.

Swindled investors should be paid $4.25 million within days, Federal Court Justice Brigitte Markovic ruled on Wednesday.

It is the second court-enforced distribution of Caddick's assets after liquidators recouped $3 million of the dead fraudster's money for a payment made in 2023.

Melissa Caddick's Dover Heights home
The court-ordered distribution comes after $3m was paid following the sale of Caddick's mansion. (HANDOUT/SYDNEY SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY)

Her luxury penthouse was sold in March for about $5 million, less than the $5.5 million asking price for the apartment in Sydney's well-heeled eastern suburbs.

But the combined $7.25 million paid to victims represents a fraction of the money she stole.

Caddick, a self-styled financial adviser, plundered $23 million from family and friends via an investment scam to live a life of luxury.

Bruce Gleeson, from liquidators Jones Partners, said investors would receive payment soon, taking the amount recovered to about 32 cents in the dollar.

"We are also making significant progress regarding recovery of tax refunds regarding the company operated by Ms Caddick ... and we will shortly be issuing a further update regarding the distributions we anticipate making to investors from this source," he told AAP. 

"It remains important for us to get the best possible return to investors from this Ponzi scheme."

The $3 million previously paid to investors followed the sale of her share portfolio and Dover Heights clifftop mansion.

The 49-year-old disappeared in November 2020, days after her luxury home was raided by ASIC agents investigating her Ponzi scheme.

Anthony Koletti leaves an inquest into wife Melissa Caddick's death
Caddick was declared missing by husband Anthony Koletti, the last person to report seeing her alive. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

Coroner Elizabeth Ryan in May 2023 ruled Caddick was dead, but she was unable to determine the cause because most of her body had not been found.

The fraudster's badly decomposed right foot, which was still attached to a running shoe, washed up on a beach on the south coast of NSW in February 2021.

Caddick's husband Anthony Koletti was the last person to see her alive and declared her missing.

He withheld information relating to his wife's disappearance and could not be ruled out from being involved, the coroner found.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.