A family owning seven multi-million-dollar properties had been accused of fraud after a solicitor's wife and son claimed squatter's rights over a $4million Sydney home.
Solicitor Peter Colquhoun, his wife Margaret Colquhoun and their son Andrew Colquhoun were charged with dishonestly obtaining the four-bedroom Glebe property by deception.
Following a trial in the NSW District Court in May and June, a judge found Margaret and Andrew guilty of fraud for making false statements in their legal bid to acquire the property via adverse possession.
Adverse possession allows residents to claim ownership of a vacant property they have openly occupied for at least 12 consecutive years, provided they did not force entry or have the owner's consent.
The court heard the property was part of a deceased estate. The Colquhoun family came into possession of the home because Peter Colquhoun's firm was asked to handle the estate after the original owner died in 1995.
The judge found Margaret Colquhoun and her son had lied in statutory declarations about when they moved into the home, but Peter Colquhoun was acquitted because the Crown could not prove he participated in the deception.
Property records show Peter and Margaret Colquhoun, both in their late 70s, own a $2million commercial premises in Rozelle, where the law firm operates, and previously sold a $5.9million Vaucluse mansion to buy a $4.9million Centennial Park home.
Andrew Colquhoun owns several properties in Queensland with his wife, including two three-bedroom homes and a five-bedroom home. In the past seven months, they have bought two four-bedroom homes for $1.6million and $1.3million.
Andrew Colquhoun (pictured) and his mother were found guilty of fraud
Peter Colquhoun (pictured) was found not guilty of fraud
The Glebe property (pictured) was part of a deceased estate after the owner died in 1995
The court heard the situation began when the original owner, Ansis Neilands, died and left the Glebe property to his relatives in the US.
Mr Neilands' neighbour Alex Huszti had cared for him before his death and found an informal will inside the Glebe property.
Mr Huszti made genuine attempts to find the US relatives, to no avail, and in 1996 hired Mr Colquhoun's law firm, Colquhoun & Colquhoun, to act for him in the NSW Supreme Court.
He wanted to become the creditor of the estate because he was owed about $17,000 for providing care, meals and shopping assistance to Mr Neilands in his dying days.
In the absence of any family, the court appointed Mr Huszti as the creditor of the estate until he died in 2002.
The home was rented out from May 1997 to September 2002 for a discounted rate of $200 per week because floorboards were missing, a bed was bolted to the floor and the kitchen had only a seat, a bench and a curtain.
Rental payments went into Colquhoun & Colquhoun's trust account. The firm would periodically reimburse itself for general fees and international searches to find the Neilands family.
The court heard the firm made genuine efforts to find Mr Neilands' family in the US between 1997 and 2002, but all searches were unsuccessful.
Peter and Margaret Colquhoun live in a $4.9million home in Centennial Park
Peter and Margaret Colquhoun sold their home in Vaucluse for $5.9million (pictured)
Andrew Colquhoun and his wife own several properties in Queensland, including the one pictured
Pictured: A home owned by Andrew and his wife
The property was pulled from the rental market in October 2002 because it was in complete disrepair.
In July 2003, Ms Colquhoun sent a letter to the real estate agent asking to be appointed property manager because she wanted to renovate.
Once renovations were finished that same year, tenants moved in. The court heard $184,000 was deposited into Ms Colquhoun's bank account in rental payments between February 2004 and January 2011.
The court heard Ms Colquhoun paid land tax until her son and his partner moved into the property in October 2010, when they began paying council fees.
In a letter to a neighbour in August 2013, Mr Colquhoun referred to the property as 'the Colquhoun family property'.
That same year, Ms Colquhoun and her son took the first steps towards claiming ownership of the property under adverse possession.
The court heard Ms Colquhoun signed a statutory declaration stating she and her son had been jointly in possession of the property since November 1, 2000, and that it had been abandoned since then.
The court heard Andrew Colquhoun said in a separate statutory declaration that he agreed with his mother, stating they had both possessed the property since November 1, 2000.
Andrew and his wife moved into the Glebe property in 2010
The application was successful, with Land Registry Services recording their ownership of the property in 2015.
In court in June, the Crown argued Ms Colquhoun and her son falsely claimed they had possession of the property since November 2000, when in fact it was tenanted.
Ms Colquhoun only began engaging in acts of ownership in 2003, the court heard.
The judge found Ms Colquhoun and her son engaged in 'multiple deceptions in documents' between 2013 and 2014.
They were convicted of fraud.
The judge found Peter Colquhoun did not engage in the deception and he was found not guilty.
Mother and son are on bail and will be sentenced on August 3.
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