Fresh battle for fraudster Melissa Caddick’s $12k shoes
Melissa Caddick had shoes worth up to $12,000 and now the receivers want to inspect them as they seek to claw back her stolen millions.
Receivers in the Melissa Caddick case want to inspect 30 pairs of the dead conwoman’s shoes, one of which may be worth up to $12,000, a court has been told.
Caddick vanished in November 2020, a day after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission raided her Dover Heights over a $23m Ponzi scheme which she used to fund a luxurious lifestyle.
Investigators seized Caddick’s designer jewellery, luxury cars and two multimillion dollar properties as they seek to pay back her fleeced investors.
Most have been sold and in June, the Federal Court ordered that Caddick’s parents, Ted and Barbara Grimley, be paid $950,000 to vacate their Edgecliff apartment while her Dover Heights home was earlier this year sold for $9.8 million.
The court was told there were now only a limited number of items that were the subject of a dispute between Caddick’s husband Anthony Koletti and the receivers.
They included pieces of jewellery, including Mr Koletti’s wedding ring, two high-end dresses, her son’s sneaker collection and a bank account that held more than $20,000.
The court was previously told Mr Koletti was staking a claim for a share of the money from the sale of their Dover Heights mansion, $2m worth of jewellery and clothes, $360,000 worth of cars and shares worth $7m.
However, that list has now been whittled down.
Mr Koletti is seeking to keep a Canturi 18ct white gold channel cross pendant, his wedding ring – given to him by his wife on their wedding day – and two watches.
Michael Hayter, the solicitor acting for the receivers, said they were seeking access to Caddick’s son’s sneaker collection, which they said could be worth tens of thousands of dollars.
“In terms of what is in dispute, and I know this is going to sound petty, one of the matters in dispute is 30 pairs of sneakers which are held by the stepson of Mr Koletti,” Mr Hayter said.
“I should say they’re not the normal type sneakers that I wear.
“One of the pairs, we’ve ascertained that it was purchased by Ms Caddick from Christian Dior and if in mint condition has a value of approximately $12,000. These sneakers may have substantial value.”
Mr Hayter told the court that the collection was removed from the Dover Heights home.
Mr Koletti also took several of Caddick’s dresses when he vacated their marital home and had handed back all but two, the court heard.
Mr Hayter told Justice Brigitte Markovic the receivers wanted to inspect the sneaker and dresses to determine if they were worth any money.
If not, Mr Hayter said, they could be kept by Mr Koletti and Caddick’s teenage son.
“Can I suggest there be some sensible discussion between the parties before you come back,” Justice Markovic said.
“And some of those issues can be resolved. I would strongly urge them to be resolved without the court having to determine complicated applications and ownership in circumstances where the assets themselves may have insignificant value.”
The court was told the receivers were also seeking funds in a bank account held by the Caddick family that contained $21,000.
Richard Allsop, the solicitor acting for Mr Koletti, said he had looked through the account and determined that $8550 came from untainted sources.
The court was also told that a superannuation account was no longer in dispute between the two parties.
“We’ve managed to get (Caddick’s brother) Adam Grimley and (Caddick’s first husband) Anthony Caddick to confirm that their signatures on all the trust superannuation fund documents are forgeries and not their signatures,” Mr Allsop told the court.
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