Kilner Mason charged with fraud, child abuse material possession

A TV producer who allegedly stole more than half a million dollars from elderly relatives using forged documents has been charged with fraud and possessing child abuse material.

A Sydney TV commercial producer is accused of stealing almost half a million dollars from two distant elderly relatives after allegedly forging documents appointing him as their power of attorney, changing their will and selling their house.

Police say Peakhurst couple Kazimierz and Elisabeth Pitura, who were in their late 90s, had planned to bequeath their earthly possessions to family in Germany after their deaths.

However, detectives have now charged Kilner Mason with allegedly faking their signatures to appoint him as power of attorney, selling their lifelong home against their will, and stealing more than $501,000 of the proceeds.

When Mason became aware he was under investigation, police allege he joked in an intercepted phone call that he was in no danger because Mr and Mrs Pitura were dead.

“During these calls the accused asked a computer technician for assistance in deleting all records relating to Mr and Mrs Pitura,” the document of allegations tendered to court states.

“The accused exaggerated the financial cost of caring for the victims, exaggerated the cost of Kazimierz Pitura’s funeral, and joked that police did not have any witnesses because the victims are both dead,” police alleged in the court documents.

Mason, 73, was charged with four counts of making a false document to gain a financial advantage, publishing false material to obtain a financial advantage, two counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, and dealing with crime proceeds.

He was further charged with two counts of possessing child abuse material after police trawled his hard drives in pursuit of evidence of his alleged crimes against Mr and Mrs Pitura.

He is yet to enter a plea to the charges.

Kilner Mason (right) and his wife Lesley at a Liberal Party event in 2019.

A document of allegations tendered to Sutherland Local Court states police will allege Mason and an unknown man approached Mr and Mrs Pitura in October 2014 while the pair were recovering from separate illnesses in the same room at St George Private Hospital.

The document states Mr and Mrs Pitura previously had limited contact with Mason – who is married to Lesley, the daughter of Mrs Pitura’s niece Janina Pisch.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Lesley Mason or Janina Pisch.

Police will allege Mr and Mrs Pitura were shown a copy of a new will bequeathing their estate to their niece and Mason’s mother-in-law, Janina Pisch.

“The victims refused to sign the will,” the document of allegations states.

“They did not give permission for the accused or any other person to act on their behalf.”

However, on October 23 police allege enduring power of attorney documents “supposedly” signed by Mrs Pitura, Mason, and a solicitor who police are yet to interview were lodged appointing Mason as Mr and Mrs Pitura’s power of attorney.

Police will allege the signatures purportedly made by Mrs Pitura were similar, but not the same as samples she later provided to them, and the initials were “completely different”.

“Guidelines suggest that only persons who would be mentally incapable of making their own decisions require an enduring power of attorney,” the document of allegations states.

“Doctors’ reports from 2017 indicate that even at 96 years of age, Elisabeth Pitura was ‘capable to make decisions’.”

Mr and Mrs Pitura then moved to a Ryde nursing home, where Mason allegedly presented himself as their power of attorney.

In March 2016, police allege Mason put their lifelong home in Peakhurst on the market, which sold for $1 million on April 6 that year.

Police allege Mason told Mrs Pitura he had transferred the house title into her name only after Mr Pitura’s death – but she did not believe him.

“As a result of this conversation Elisabeth Pitura began disclosing her concerns to staff at the nursing home,” the document of allegations state.

“In July 2017 nursing home staff became increasingly concerned with the accused’s demands to restrict Mrs Pitura’s activities and contact with the outside world.

“This, coupled with the information regarding the sale of the property, caused the staff to become suspicious and they contacted the NSW Trustee and Guardian.”

Court attendance notices for Mason reveal police will allege he took $197,416.45 between October 2014 and May 2016, and a further $304,362.54 from the Pituras between May 2016 and August 2017.

On July 6 this year, police attended Janina Pisch’s home, where she allegedly told them Mr and Mrs Pitura did not give Mason permission to sell their property.

On July 23, police raided Mason’s home – where they allegedly discovered a number of external hard drives in his home editing suite.

Police allege in court documents that the hard drives contain a range of graphic child abuse material depicting pre-pubescent girls, and further forensic analysis also allegedly revealed a number of deleted documents which police subsequently recovered.

The deleted documents allegedly included two unsigned last will and testament documents for Kazimierz and Elisabeth Pitura with an October 2014 date which made Mason the executor of their wills.

The documents allegedly suggested the victims’ estates would be given to Lesley Mason (50 per cent), Janina Pisch (25 per cent) and her husband Lee Pisch (25 per cent).

Police allege The document further nominates the solicitor who allegedly signed the documents appointing Mason as power of attorney as the solicitor for Mr and Mrs Pitura.

“These last will and testaments had not been sighted by police and it is not believed to have been lodged with any organisations on the victims’ behalf,” the document of allegations state.

“The documents confirm the original allegation that the accused attended Elisabeth’s hospital room in October 2014 with a new will, which she refused to sign.”

Mason’s matter was mentioned at Sutherland Local Court on September 21 where his solicitor Ms Zafiras sought a bail variation.

Magistrate Joy Boulos granted Mason’s request to only report to Glebe police once a week given the current Covid situation.

“He has no criminal history, and he is currently employed making TV commercials,” Ms Boulos said.

“He is involved in the organisation of Park Run and has been charged in relation to an offence previously but there were no proceedings as a result.”

As part of his bail conditions, Mason was previously forbidden from speaking to the Sydney solicitor who allegedly purported to act for the Pituras and who signed the allegedly fraudulent wills and documents appointing Mason as their power of attorney.

The court heard detectives intend to speak to the solicitor – who the St George Shire Standard has chosen not to identify – imminently due to their concerns the seven-year restriction on destroying relevant legal documents has almost expired.

Ms Boulos altered the bail conditions to allow Mason’s legal representatives to speak with the solicitor in question about the case.

Mason’s case returns to Sutherland Local Court for reply on November 2.

Mason is the founder of his own TV commercial production company, Mason Picture Company.

His wife Lesley once ran for Fred Nile’s Christian Democrats for the Sydney electorate in the 2013 Federal Election.

The pair are significantly involved in the Haberfield Park Run group.