From top of the heap to the bin: The life of Cathy Jayne Pearce, one-time property millionaire now remanded in custody over fraud charges

She once bragged she was so wealthy she could “bathe in Moet” – this is how a multi-millionaire’s life unravelled and left her perched atop a suburban wheelie bin.

During Cathy Jayne Pearce’s reign as the undisputed – but never less than controversial – real estate queen of Adelaide, a TV reporter brought up her personal wealth.

The BRW Young Rich List had, he explained, estimated her vast property and development portfolio’s value at an eye-watering $19 million, but Pearce was quick to cut him off.

“I think they’ve made a mistake and need to get their calculator out … it’s more,” she insisted.

More than 20 years later, in August, the woman who once sat atop the heap of the elite was photographed atop a bin, shoeless, next to a business from which she had been locked out.

No longer an A-lister, no longer a mover and shaker – no longer even Cathy Jayne Peace – the one-time wunderkind’s life-change has been long, dramatic and total.

This is how Cathy Jayne Pearce – who once bragged she could “bathe in Moe”, but now cannot keep a bathhouse afloat – went from a $5.2 million mansion to a wheelie bin.

WHO IS CATHY JAYNE BRITTEN?

The wedding of Cathy Jayne Staker and Myles Pearce.

In 1998, Ms Britten – then Cathy Jayne Staker – married equally-controversial real estate tycoon Myles Pearce and, together, they quickly became one of the city’s “it” couples.

They lived in “The Myrtles”, a lavish mansion in Medindie worth in excess of $5 million.

Ms Britten soon established her own development company, Metamorphosis, which specialised in buying blocks of units for renovation and sale.

Her professional persona was that of “a self-made, self-motivated and inspirational businesswoman” who had “successfully turned over 400 properties” in a single year.

In 2005, she authored the book “Real Estate Cash from Treasure and Trash”, marketed as the “classic rags to riches story” of “a non-performer at school” who became a success.

“Cathy Jayne Pearce is a property sensation … a non-performer at school, she went on to create a company that turns over more than $100 million in sales annually,” its blurb stated.

“With motivation, persistence, and a firm knowledge base as detailed in this book, Pearce will show you how to look beyond what the property is and look forward to what its potential can be.”

Whatever potential Ms Britten sought, however, was about to go unrealised.

HOW DID CATHY JAYNE BRITTEN’S DOWNFALL BEGIN?

Ms Britten and Mr Pearce outside the Holden Hill Magistrates Court.

In 2004, Ms Britten made national headlines when she appeared as a potential buyer on the second season of “The Block” on the Nine Network.

Soon after, Metamorphosis was placed into liquidation with $400,000 in debts.

Ms Britten and Mr Pearce then brokered a deal to sell The Myrtles to another couple for its full value.

In 2008, after moving to the Gold Coast, Ms Britten was accused of stalking The Myrtles’ new buyers.

In the Holden Hill Magistrates Court, prosecutors alleged she fell out with the couple over their alleged non-payment of a $3 million loan.

They further accused her of threatening the couple and their family by saying she had underworld figure Mick Gatto waiting in her car for them.

Ms Britten denied the accusations, calling them “vicious and vexatious”, insisting she had gone to the couple’s property only to serve papers ahead of a bankruptcy hearing.

In July of that year she reneged on a plea bargain deal and, in November, prosecutors withdrew the allegations – but asked the court note their “unusual” reasons for doing so.

“It’s been withdrawn because of the illness of the victim and the unavailability of the witness,’’ the prosecutor said.

HOW DID CATHY JAYNE BRITTEN HANDLE BANKRUPTCY?

Ms Britten outside ”The Myrtles” mansion, Medindie.

The abandoned case was but one of many sparked by Metamorphosis’ liquidation.

Most of the stoushes were settled out of court – one hearing, however, was told Ms Britten was absent from the bar table because she “was in a critical condition”.

In 2009, Ms Britten declared bankruptcy and, two years later, she and Mr Pearce split – he died, aged 69, in 2016.

Ms Britten, meanwhile, authored her second book – “From Riches to Rags: How To Go Broke Successfully”, an autobiography written about her change in lifestyle.

“Just five years ago, I was a multi-millionaire … I was on BRW’s Rich List, and I was worth over $19 million,” she said in a YouTube video.

“We had it all – we had the mansion, the BMWs, the river shack … we could have bathed in Moe, we were so wealthy.

“I had over 31 companies and we turned over $100 million a year developing property … but today, it’s a very different story.

“I’ve been liquidated, I’ve been humiliated, I’ve been vilified, defamed, bankrupted and left, at times, with almost nothing.”

She had decided to write her second book because, she said, there had been “nowhere to go for help” when her world collapsed – and she wanted to guide others who followed her path.

“My book is about imparting my knowledge so you can learn from my mistakes,” she said in the video.

“It’s about giving you an opportunity to gain back control of your life.”

Ms Britten’s life was, by contrast, about to spiral further out of her control.

HOW DID CATHY JAYNE BRITTEN RETURN TO COURT?

Ms Britten – then Cathy Jayne Hogben – at the Adelaide Magistrates Court in 2017.

In 2014, Ms Britten – by then Cathy Jayne Hogben – was charged with defrauding more than $54,000 in insurance following a 2008 car crash.

That case was dropped two years later, at which time she said her focus was on raising her family and running a pawnbroker business.

Just five months later, a warrant was issued for her arrest on charges of $15,000 in welfare fraud, which she claimed arose from an accounting mistake within government.

That case was also dropped, in September 2017, without Ms Britten ever having to enter a plea.

So too were allegations levelled against her in Queensland, accusing her of $30,000 in car insurance fraud.

“The treatment has definitely been disgraceful … the case has been a waste of taxpayers’ dollars,” she said at the time.

“The past 12 months have been horrendous as I have been living under a cloud of suspicion.

“It’s an empty feeling … you just get told that the ‘charges are dropped and you are free to go’ … there is no ‘whoops we were wrong’, no compensation, no apology.

“I think I would be well within my rights to give the government a spray and I may even take that further later.

“Overall, the whole experience has been humiliating and embarrassing.”

In November 2018, Ms Britten advertised publicly for “investors or joint venture partners” for “real estate security with cashflow, capital and ‘add value’ opportunities”.

She told The Advertiser she was particularly keen to ensure any business venture has a charitable aspect, citing issues such as domestic violence and homelessness.

Instead, she took over a bathhouse.

HOW IS CATHY JAYNE PEARCE CONNECTED TO SOAK HOUSE ADELAIDE?

A screenshot from the website of closed business Soak House Adelaide.

In 2024, Ms Britten began advertising Soak House Adelaide on social media – the business is not connected to the former operators of the site.

Soak House’s website bills it as “Adelaide’s first communal bathhouse” with facilities including “two traditional Japanese onsens” for personal health and wellbeing.

A notice at the top of the website says the business is “temporarily closed until further notice”.

Soak House, at Richmond, was formerly the site of another, unconnected and unrelated wellness business, and its site is owned by landlords John and Anita Dente.

Last month, Ms Britten and her company, CJDJ Pty Ltd, served the Dentes with a statutory demand – a legal way of seeking to have moneys paid.

The Dentes took the demand to the Supreme Court and asked it be struck out, saying Ms Britten had specified neither the reason for it nor the amount sought.

They also said that, according to federal government databases, Ms Britten was once again bankrupt – a claim she strenuously denied.

“That is not correct … I’ve been through a situation where my identity was fraudulently used by (another person), who is in jail for that,” she said by phone link to the court.

“I was bankrupt 12 years ago, and I’m well and truly discharged from that … it’s quite alarming and concerning, having such accusations made toward me.

“All of this is shocking, the things that are being alleged.”

She claimed much of what had been said in court was “inappropriate”, prompting Associate Justice Graham Dart to intervene.

“I’m running this court, Ms Britten, not you, so it’s not for you to decide what’s appropriate,” he said.

Ms Britten then said her phone was “going out of range” – Associate Justice Dart told her to “stop where you are” so that court could continue.

He ordered she file the necessary court documents ahead of a hearing in October but, late last week, Ms Britten’s fortunes took another downward turn.

WHY WAS CATHY JAYNE PEARCE REMANDED IN CUSTODY?

Ms Britten inside “The Myrtles”, and …

… atop a bin, in August 2024, outside Soak House Adelaide. Picture: Supplied.

On Friday, the Christies Beach Magistrates Court refused Ms Britten bail, and remanded her in custody, on allegations of fraud and poor driving dating back to 2021.

Court documents show she is charged with one count of dishonestly dealing with documents at Brighton in October 2021.

She is further charged with having driven at night, with excess blood alcohol, and in contravention of a learner’s permit, that same year.

Ms Britten is also charged with driving under disqualification or suspension in 2021, and with a second count of the same offence in 2022.

She is further charged with two counts of failing to comply with bail agreements – once in 2023, and a second time in 2024.

The court refused her bail and remanded her in custody to appear in October by video link.

Later that same day, Ms Britten was due to appear in the Supreme Court for her latest legal filing – seeking to have Soak House’s lease reinstated.

The court heard that lease had been terminated over $9000 in allegedly unpaid rent, but that Ms Britten had since repaid the amount and $20,000 in associated costs and fees.

Because she was in custody and unable to litigate her claim, the court rejected her bid to re-enter the business and ended her case before it even began.

The future of both Soak House and Ms Britten remain in legal limbo, now, until October.