Victims of Melissa Caddick’s investment scam, totaling $23 million in losses before her disappearance and death, have reached a settlement in their class action lawsuit against her auditors, allowing them to recover part of their losses. So far, investors have been reimbursed $7.25 million through the sale of Caddick’s assets by liquidators in 2023 and 2024. The suit, initiated in September 2023, accused the five audit firms responsible for Caddick’s financial statements from 2012 to 2020 of failing to identify fraudulent documents and verify the existence of shares in the victims’ self-managed superannuation funds. On Monday, Federal Court Justice Brigitte Markovic approved a $3.5 million settlement agreed upon by the auditors in September; while the auditors did not admit liability, the outcome represents a significant victory for the victims. Most of the settlement will cover legal fees and the remainder is expected to be returned to the investors within a month. The scandal involved Caddick using her company Maliver to embezzle investors’ funds for personal use, and she vanished in November 2020 amidst an ASIC investigation into her Ponzi scheme.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/01/melissa-caddick-auditors-investors-settlement-ntwnfb