Inside Sydney model’s drastic drug-fuelled fall from grace

The drug-fuelled downfall of a prominent real estate agent and model has been laid bare after she was jailed for a bizarre crime spree.

The drug-fuelled downfall of a prominent real estate agent and model has been laid bare after she was jailed for a bizarre crime spree.

Monique Agostino once held a successful career in Sydney’s affluent northern beaches with aspirations of becoming an actor, but those hopes were dashed when she started using crystal methamphetamine.

After she finished school, the 28-year-old successfully climbed the corporate ladder in the real estate industry and became head property manager at a major real estate company.

She also started her own clothing business at the age of 21, but held even loftier aspirations.

Monique Agostino has endured a drastic fall from grace. Picture: Starnow

Agostino was a part-time model and had been credited with unpaid acting jobs in 2018, when she posted her details on the Starnow talent directory.

The striking blonde shared fresh-faced and revealing photos of herself and touted her skills as a model, actor, extra, and presenter.

But before she could make her Hollywood dreams come true, her life began spiralling out of control.

Descent into drugs

Although Agostino reported drinking and dabbling in cocaine use in her younger years, she told psychologist Dr Tim Watson-Munro she began using ice “intensely” in 2018, according to court documents.

She explained that the illicit drug helped make her ADHD more manageable, but the documents reveal she was abusing meth and alcohol when she became involved in a string of burglaries.

In November, the model acted as a wheelwoman for a group of juvenile males who would don black masks and break into cafes and convenience stores in Sydney’s north shore.

She was caught on CCTV in early November trying to break into Pound of Pizza restaurant at Killarney Heights and continued her crime spree until she was arrested later that month.

She is a former model and real estate agent.

Who used to post racy pictures to her thousands of social media followers.

Court documents reveal the model was homeless and living in her car at the time, after being asked to leave home by her parents.

She told Dr Watson-Munro that she was abusing both meth and alcohol during the troubled time.

Agostino was jailed for a year after being found guilty of the five break and enter charges.

She was also convicted for having a knife at Target, possessing ice and restricted prescription medication, and stealing a $90 jacket from Supre.

Fall from grace

With a two-year bond for common assault on her record, the sentence represented the real estate agent’s first time behind bars.

Her distaste for life in custody is evident in the 15 warrants that have been issued for her arrest over the last four years.

Yet the jail term didn’t deter the former social media influencer from further offending.

Agostino had aspirations of being an actor. Picture: Starnow

Yet the influencer became involved in illicit drugs.

In 2019, she was incarcerated again for possessing drugs, restricted prescribed substances, and having a knife in public on two occasions.

In the same year, the small business owner was also handed a community corrections order for smuggling goods into jail.

In 2020, police found stolen goods on her property. She was convicted and fined $1500 but managed to stay out of prison.

She wasn’t as lucky in 2021 when she was convicted of a whopping 15 offences related to drugs, unlawful driving, and stolen goods.

The following year, she was busted driving with drugs in her system and fined $1100.

Court documents reveal Agostino had returned to regularly using meth at the beginning of this year when she was caught with stolen number plates in her possession.

The former model has consistently been in custody over the past few years.

She is currently in jail for a crime spree.

Only two months later, the aspiring actor was caught driving an unregistered and uninsured car with ice in her system while disqualified from driving.

Police also found a notebook in her handbag which had the drivers licence details of another woman and the details of several credit cards, which she used to commit fraud, court documents reveal.

Agostino admitted she had been unable to afford to insure her car and had stolen the plates so she could continue to drive.

She was sentenced to nine months behind bars for ten charges related to theft, driving, and fraud, but her non parole period was reduced on appeal earlier this week.

Clever criminal

During her sentencing, the model’s Legal Aid lawyer told the court Agostino was “an intelligent individual who has used her abilities for criminal, instead of constructive, reasons”.

Dr Watson-Munro similarly found Agostino was “a genuine and capable individual” in 2020.

The former model and aspiring actor has swapped her designer clothes

For prison greens. Picture: NSW Police

Although he said she was a “psychologically distressed woman”, he noted she had been “highly successful” in real estate “prior to her life derailing”.

Over the last seven years, the 28-year-old has amassed 33 convictions on her criminal record and $6300 in fines.

She has a staggering 55 entries on her traffic record dating back to when she got her licence in 2013, mostly for speeding, using her phone, and driving with drugs in her system.

On Monday, the former real estate agent returned to court to successfully appeal the severity of her most recent jail term.

Her five-month non-parole period was reduced to four months, so Agostino will be released on parole next month.