Maria Carroll fronts court over fraud involving nearly $5m

A former Melbourne conveyancer’s pyramid scheme sucked nearly $5m of clients’ hard-earned money — including one dying of cancer and another seriously ill — before she dobbed herself in.

Former Melbourne conveyancer Maria Carroll has been sentenced to four years and seven months in jail for defrauding her clients of nearly $5m.

A former Melbourne conveyancer who fleeced her clients of almost $5m — including one dying from cancer — by running a prolonged pyramid scheme has been sentenced to nearly five years’ jail.

Maria Tracey Carroll’s business Maree Carroll and Associates duped clients over a seven-year period starting in 2013 until her lawyer contacted police in May 2020 to arrange an interview.

The 62-year-old was sentenced to four years and seven months imprisonment when she appeared for sentencing in the County Court on Thursday.

Carroll stole $4.6m from more than 45 clients, including her friends, on the pretext the funds would be invested with borrowers and protected by caveats registered against the borrowers’ real estate.

She also pocketed money from property settlements and managed to repay just $118,835 of the nearly $5m misappropriated.

The highest single amount stolen was $577,380 that belonged to Patricia James and Katina Clayton for the purchase of a house in Wallan in March 2020.

Investors lost millions of dollars under a pyramid scheme former scumbag conveyancer Maria Carroll ran that promised interest returns of 25 per cent.

Carroll did not complete the settlement and instead retained the amount for her personal use.

Mr James and Ms Clayton also lost $63,500 in deposit paid to the vendors as Carroll did not complete the settlement.

Her other victims who lost more than $500,000 were Elio De Carlo ($547,000),

Bruce and Gayle Praski ($532,443), and another victim ($540,000).

“This is not a case in which a seriously-debilitating mental health condition has markedly affected your judgment. This was a planned, prolonged and dishonest conduct of cheating people,” Judge Michael Bourke said at sentencing.

“It was self evidently wrong and you knew so. I do not accept this is a case of you simply losing control of what happened.”

Many of her victims had long-term and quite personal relationship with Carroll and that many who were defrauded have not been compensated, he said.

Judge Bourke said none of the $2.4m she stole had been repaid while a few victims received just $118,835 of the $2.2m that Carroll obtained by deception.

“These sums of money were no doubt large in people’s experience and situations. They were associated in many cases with important personal transactions and investment,” he said.

Of the large number of people defrauded, only two including Elio De Carlo’s son and the executor of his estate Paul De Carlo chose to submit victim impact statements.

Paul De Carlo joined court proceedings virtually and became visibly emotional when Judge Bourke mentioned the impact Carroll’s offending has had on the De Carlo family.

Elio De Carlo was the director of Abbey Investments Pty Ltd and engaged Carroll to provide investment advice between 2013 and 2020.

In his victim impact statement, Paul De Carlo said Carroll took away his father’s life savings through her despicable action, false friendship and fraud by falsely claiming she would invest his money with an interest return of 25 percent.

Judge Bourke imposed a minimum non-parole of two years and three months.