A real estate agent specialising in luxury properties with high-profile owners, including fashion designer Collette Dinnigan, has been charged with 15 fraud offences after she allegedly misused $3.69 million which was placed into her agency's trust account by various clients over the course of two years.
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Nicolette van Wijngaarden, 44, is the director of Unique Estates, a boutique real estate agency now under liquidation which specialised in selling multi-million dollar properties in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
She is accused of fraudulently dealing with home deposits paid to her company, including $105,000 from the sale of Ms Dinnigan's Surf and Stables retreat at Milton on the South Coast in late 2017.
Ms van Wijngarden is also accused of "falsely representing" that $1,165,876 from rental properties would remain in the Unique Estates trust account until the money was paid to the property owners.
The charges span from May 2016 to February 2018.
The properties involved are located at Byron Bay, Port Stephens, the NSW north coast, the Victorian locales of Daylesford, Cremorne and Mallacoota, and at Elanora on the Gold Coast. All 15 charges are alleged to have been carried out at Port Macquarie.
Most of the properties are grand homes, while two provide accommodation: the secluded 16-hectare Rainforest Resort at Byron Bay, and the waterfront Karbeethong Lodge guest house at Mallacoota, near the NSW-Victoria border.
In late August, Ms van Wijngaarden was charged by the NSW Department of Fair Trading with ten counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and five counts of "licensee fraudulently convert money more than $5000", which relates to trust money being "converted" for use by a corporation or individual.
The real estate agent has previously been involved in the sale of high-profile homes, including Chapel House - the historic estate which once belonged to the artist John Olsen - and Cedar Springs, the home in the Byron Bay hinterland which was built by actor Paul Hogan.
According to court documents, the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions took over the case in September. Ms van Wijngaarden has been excused from attending Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court when the case is next mentioned in two weeks.
Ms van Wijngaarden lives in the Melbourne suburb of Elwood and was sent documents by express post to inform her of the court case.
In a statement, a NSW Fair Trading spokesman confirmed 15 charges had been laid against a 44-year-old woman.
"The total quantum of money involved in all charges alleged is in excess of $3.5 million," the spokesman said.
Unique Estates was placed into liquidation in May, owing an estimated $4 million to 26 employees and other unsecured creditors including BMW Australia Finance, the Australian Tax Office and the Office of State Revenue.
The company also owes money to the Fight Cancer Foundation, Fairfax Media, Domain, Google Asia Pacific, LuxuryRealEstate.com and News Corp Australia.
According to a liquidators report published by ASIC, the Office of Fair Trading have identified "a number of deficiencies in the trust accounts" of Unique Estates.
Liquidators from PwC also identified a "bookkeeping error" where the value of certain assets was "significantly overstated".
Ms van Wijngaarden maintained contact with liquidators to provide them with information as recently as August 20, four days before charges were laid against her.
The matter will return to court on November 8.
