Company enters administration as owner, daughter stand accused of fraud
Toplace, a property development company that claims to have built over 30,000 properties across Sydney, has gone into voluntary administration amidst allegations of fraud by its owner, Jean Nassif.
Sources close to the investigation suggest that there were issues with building defects at resident sites in Castle Hill and Canterbury, which resurfaced after the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal imposed a stop-work ban, according to a report by The Australian. As a result, administrators from DVT Group have been appointed to investigate Toplace's significant assets and liabilities to determine what happens next with the company.
The timing is significant since there are potentially thousands of residents who pre-purchased apartments with mortgages but nowhere to live following the development company's collapse, The Australian reported.
The company's troubles don't end there. Nassif, who has turned up in Lebanon after fleeing Australia in December last year, is facing fraud allegations relating to a pre-sale document for an apartment complex in the northwestern suburb of Castle Hill, The Australian reported. The fraud allegations concern his use of fraudulent documents to obtain a $150m loan from Westpac.
His daughter, attorney Ashlyn Nassif, has also been charged with falsifying documents relating to the pre-sale of apartments in the same complex.
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Toplace's woes are further compounded by the likelihood that there are hundreds of consultants and subcontractors who worked on their unfinished projects who have yet to be paid. The company's building licences were also suspended by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal twice this year, which blocked Nassif from completing existing or under-development contracts across the state.
The company and Nassif were also hit with a 10-year building licence suspension and a permanent revocation in December, after a probe into their properties allegedly uncovered 40 building defects across residential sites in Castle Hill and Canterbury, including inadequate drainage, unsecured balustrades, and fire sprinklers obstructed by pipes. One resident in June reported "cracking sounds" in another Sydney apartment complex constructed by Toplace Group, The Australian reported.
The administrators are expected to report to a creditors meeting in the next week regarding Toplace's prospects.
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