Sydney socialite Adriana Benhamou Weiss accused of falsifying records
A glamorous Sydney identity who rubbed shoulders with the city’s elite is now facing criminal charges following the collapse of her interior design firm.
For years Adriana Benhamou Weiss was a fixture on Sydney’s social scene, with the glamorous interior designer travelling the world, attending high profile events and rubbing shoulders with elite clients.
But in July 2018, her empire began to crumble after her business, Benhamou Designs Pty Ltd, went into liquidation.
Robyn Duggan from Ferrier Hodgson was appointed as liquidator, alleging in an October 2018 statutory report that “the director has attributed the failure of the company to Australian Taxation Office default assessments and poor business management”.
At the date of liquidation, the firm owed the ATO just over $3.9 million, with the report listing “total liabilities” of more than $8.1 million.
The report noted the interior design consultancy business serviced customers in Sydney, Dubai and London and that around 90 per cent of its revenue was sourced from overseas customers.
The report also states that “it appears the company failed principally for the following reasons: poor financial control including lack of records, poor strategic management, inadequate cash flow or high case use, trading losses and significant disputes with customers and suppliers”.
“In my opinion, the director has permitted the company to incur debts in the order of $7.5 million at a time when the company was insolvent,” it added.
Then, in 2019, things took another dramatic turn for Ms Weiss.
That year, she had a very public falling out with former friend and millionaire Neville “Croaky” Crichton and his wife Nadi.
The high-profile couple had hired Ms Weiss to furnish their Sydney waterfront mansion – but the items, said to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, never arrived, landing all three in mediation, which is reportedly still ongoing.
Ms Weiss previously told The Sunday Telegraph “supplier issues” were behind the dispute.
In December 2021, there was yet another twist when Ms Weiss appeared before Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court faced with twelve charges of falsifying financial records.
According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, it is alleged that between November and December 2016, the 40-year-old “directed an employee of her firm to create false financial records relating to the affairs of Benhamou Designs”.
ASIC alleges that twelve false financial records were created showing payments made by Benhamou Designs to suppliers and contractors that had not been made.
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is prosecuting the matter following a referral from ASIC, and it will return to court for mention in April.
At the time of the alleged conduct in question, “concealing, destroying, mutilating, or falsifying securities or books” – a breach of the Corporations Act – carried a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment if proven.
News.com.au contacted Ms Weiss and Ms Duggan for comment.
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