Billionaire accused of providing business advice and funding in exchange for sexual relationship

Richard White’s alleged lover Linda Rogan claims he expected sex for investment in her wellness business, court documents reveal.

Linda Rogan (left) says he was introduced to billionaire Richard White by his girlfriend Zena Nasser (right).

Billionaire Richard White has been accused of pursuing a sexual relationship with a Sydney beauty entrepreneur in exchange for investing in her business, while also paying $13m to house her and her children in a secret Vaucluse mansion.

The sensational allegations are contained in Federal Court documents lodged by Linda Rogan, against whom Mr White is taking bankruptcy action after she successfully sought a garnishee order for about $91,000 from his bank account last year.

Ms Rogan alleged the billionaire told her, during their relationship, words to the effect that “no one will ever win against me in litigation as I have more money, and they always run out of money”.

“I knew from my experiences with Richard that he was severe in his intentions to use his financial resources to outspend any opponent,” Ms Rogan claimed in court documents.

The $91,000 sum is related to the amount Ms Rogan claims she shelled out for luxury furniture for the Vaucluse house, which Mr White allegedly purchased for her in September 2022 to live in after agreeing to fund the buying out of her partners — including her husband — in the Bionik Wellness business.

Mr White, it is alleged, also offered Ms Rogan to be paid $1m in salary annually from the business, in order to afford to pay him “market rent” to live in the mansion.

Ms Rogan claims to have met Mr White, the billionaire founder of ASX-listed giant WiseTech Global, via his current girlfriend Zena Nasser, and then after the trio had met for dinner in August 2022 began discussing plans for him to inject funds into the business.

“I want to make you and your business ideas massively successful — that’s how you can repay me … financial freedom is empowering. And life is short — so I want you to double down and build this thing,” Ms Rogan alleges Mr White told her via WhatsApp messages, according to court documents.

Linda Rogan and billionaire Richard White are embroiled in a years-long court fight.

The messages, Ms Rogan alleges, came the day after a meeting at Mr White’s Bexley mansion in Sydney, when in the living room the billionaire said: “I would love to invest in you and grow the business. We need to get your partners out … I invest in founders, not businesses.”

The following month, in September 2022, Ms Rogan alleges Mr White arranged for her to travel to the US to meet him, during which the pair became lovers — which she alleges was in exchange for the billionaire investing in her business.

“When I met Richard, I genuinely believed he was interested in investing in my business. I was separated from my husband, caring for three children and my teenage son had only recently suffered a devastating brain injury. After a few weeks I realised Richard was pursuing a sexual relationship,” Ms Rogan claims in documents released by the Federal Court on Tuesday.

“[I] travelled to New York at the request of Richard. Richard arranged my flights. When I arrived at the Park Lane Hotel to check in, I was informed that only 1 suite had been arranged. I realised that Richard expected me to enter into a sexual relationship with him to fulfil the promise that he would invest in my business. So I stayed with Richard in his suite and our relationship became sexual.”

Linda Rogan alleges her sexual relationship with Richard White began at the Park Lane Hotel in New York.

The New York trip, Ms Rogan alleges, occurred about three months after she met Mr White’s girlfriend Ms Nasser, via social media.

“In around June 2022 I was contacted via lnstagram direct message by Zena Nasser,” Ms Rogan said. “We exchanged messages over lnstagram for a couple of weeks.”

In July 2022, Ms Nasser visited Ms Rogan at her Bionik Wellness business in Rose Bay. Bionik is a “science-based wellness business” which aims to give customers “the tools and technology to optimise how you feel and perform in your daily life,” its website says.

“At this meeting Zena facetimed Richard White, who I understood to be her partner and introduced me to Richard over Facetime,” Ms Rogan claims in the court documents.

In August 2022, the trio had dinner at renowned Sydney restaurant Bambini Trust.

“During dinner Richard said to me words to the effect of “I’m an entrepreneur. I have a company, Wise Tech. I’m a billionaire,” Ms Rogan said.

Mr White and Ms Rogan, she says, later had meetings and discussions about him investing in Bionik Wellness, including buying out her business partner Samuel Lehain and husband Gil Sartena.

In another Bambini Trust dinner, Ms Rogan alleges Mr White offered to buy her a house to move into.

I have purchased an apartment for Zena to live in. I can purchase a property for you and your children to live in too,” Mr White allegedly offered.

“I will own the property, and you would pay rent from the salary paid by the newly formed company which would own Bionik Wellness.”

The salary, she says, would be $1m and cover rental payments at market rates. When Ms Rogan asked why she would have to pay the amount, Mr White allegedly replied: “With my wealth I get scrutinised so it must be a market rent.”

In September that year, Ms Rogan says Mr White prepared documents about the strategy to take control of the business, including forming three new companies — called “newcos” — in which Mr White would emerge with a 10 per cent shareholding.

Mr White is alleged to have told Ms Rogan she “need[ed] to be the one approaching” Mr Lehain to buy him out because “if he thinks a billionaire is going to buy him out, the price will escalate.”

He later is alleged to have suggested a $2m sum for the entire business, including a Surry Hills outlet, Rose Bay and the intellectual property.”

WiseTech founder Richard White is alleged to have wanted to invest in Linda Rogan’s business

By September of that year, Mr White bought the Vaucluse house for $13.1m, after which Ms Rogan bought furniture.

But, in October 2022, she says she received a text message from Nasser stating: “You didn’t have to lie … Richard admitted it … so weird … please don’t come near me again”.

“Shortly thereafter Richard sent me text message stating ‘Relax I’ll sort it out tonight — don’t respond.’”

Weeks later, in November 2022, Ms Rogan says she was locked out of the Vaucluse house by Mr White’s lawyer, after which she took court action to recover the $91,000 she says he promised to reimburse her for the spending on furniture.

That later led to a successful garnishee notice — Mr White says he missed court documents in mid-2023 after a bout of Covid — and then more recently the bankruptcy move by Mr White against her which begun in August this year.

Ms Rogan, who also owns Laser Clinics franchises, says she defaulted on the agreement to buy out her Bionik Wellness partners (she had invested more than $360,000 to establish its Rose Bay outlet and another $100,000 for equipment and machinery), and that Mr Lehain later sold his share to a third party without her knowledge.

She claims she later sold her share at a “quantifiable loss of $250,000”.

Ms Rogan wants Mr White’s bid to bankrupt her thrown out of court and last week she foreshadowed plans to file a cross-claim against White alleging misleading conduct, and suggested she could argue the bankruptcy notice may be “a device for sabotage”.

During hearings last week the Federal Court heard Ms Rogan alleged Mr White’s bankruptcy notice filed against her “was actuated on malice”.

In her bid to have the notice ejected, Ms Rogan’s barrister Bridie Nolan argued her client was subject to “grooming” to induce her into business.

She said bankruptcy notices should “not be used to disrupt a person’s daily life”, and that Ms Rogan was caught up in a “system of misconduct”.

A spokeswoman for Mr White told The Australian: “Given this matter is currently before the court, Richard is unable to comment other than to say that the court proceedings relate to an unresolved commercial debt arising from various cases run by Ms Rogan against Richard and costs and court orders made against Ms Rogan in those matters.”

Originally published as Billionaire accused of providing business advice and funding in exchange for sexual relationship