Fraudster dubbed Aussie Wolf of Wall Street has proceeds from sale of Sydney house seized

A court has ordered the proceeds from the sale of a Sydney luxury unit of a notorious Australian fraudster be handed over to authorities.

A fraudster once dubbed the Australian Wolf of Wall Street and who fleeced thousands of UK investors out of $130 million has had the proceeds from the sale of his luxury Sydney home and three vehicles handed over to authorities.

Jeffrey Revell-Reade was in 2014 imprisoned for nine years and three months after an English court found he was the mastermind of a high-level boiler room scam run out of Spain.

In 2014 he had a further four years added to his sentence because of his failure to pay back half of his ill-gotten gains under a confiscation order made by a London court.

During his trial, the court heard that Revell-Reade oversaw a team of salespersons who used high-pressure sales tactics to push virtually worthless shares onto investors.

Proceeds from the sale of Jeffrey Revell-Reade’s Sydney unit will be handed over to authorities. Picture: Real Estate.com.au

He used the fraud scheme to fund an extravagant lifestyle including luxury cars and travel, a yacht, vintage wine, art and homes in London, Spain and Australia.

The NSW Supreme Court heard on Tuesday that as at December 2019, he still owed around $9 million.

The NSW Commissioner of Police applied to the Supreme Court for the proceeds of the sale of his harbourside Sydney unit and three vehicles – including a luxury 4WD – be handed over to the Commonwealth in order to pay back part of his debts.

His wife Andrea Young attempted to make a claim that she was owed a share in the Darling Point four-bedroom unit as well as the three cars – a Land Rover Defender, a Mini Cooper and a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Ms Young attempted to argue that she deserved a share of the property, which served as her family home before her husband’s arrest and extradition to the UK, claiming she contributed to running costs and made repayment as loans to her husband’s company, Propertycorp.

However, Justice Robertson Wright rejected her claim, saying there was no evidence of any agreement to state she was owed a share of the property.

“For all of these reasons, I am of the view that the evidence does not establish that Ms Young had any interest, legal or equitable, in the Darling Point property,” Justice Wright said in a judgment delivered on Tuesday.

“Nor does it establish that she has any relevant interest in the surplus proceeds of sale.”

Justice Wright did order that a company which ran the storage facility where the two cars and motorcycles were housed be awarded over $30,000 for unpaid storage costs.

The court heard that the Thornton Street, Darling Point unit was purchased in February 2007 for $3.95 million.

Justice Wright said Revell-Reade had taken out a $2.85 million mortgage, with a further $1.1 million coming from the proceeds of his fraud.

The property was sold in September 2015 with the Commonwealth retrieving just over $410,000 after the mortgage was repaid.