A woman who was owed a $3million settlement from her ex-husband for falsely accusing her of stealing his money has won a federal court judgement after a 12-year ordeal.
Former Sydney pub millionaire Les Young will be forced to pay ex-wife and former employee Joanne Young an undisclosed figure after the finding was handed down on Thursday.
He owed the multi-million dollar payment after he transferred his own money to Ms Young’s account and then accused her of stealing, A Current Affair reported.
Former Sydney pub millionaire Les Young (pictured with new wife Josephine Smith) will be forced to pay ex-wife Joanne Young an undisclosed figure after he refused to pay a $3million settlement for falsely accusing her of stealing
Ms Young (pictured) won a federal court judgement on Thursday which will force her ex-husband to pay her a confidential sum
The false accusations led to a dawn police raid of Ms Young’s home in 2006 and her wrongful eviction, before her belongings were seized by Mr Young.
She was left homeless and without her two seized terriers Fluffy and Molly, who were both put down because she couldn’t afford the $1,200 release fee.
Ms Young – who ran Mr Young’s pub Wiley Park Hotel, in Sydney’s south-west, for more than a decade – appeared before court where 46 fraud charges were dismissed.
She was found to be falsely accused by her ex-husband, who had an affair with her friend Josephine Smith and brought their marriage to an end, according to A Current Affair.
False accusations against Ms Young (pictured) led to a dawn police raid of her home in 2006 and her wrongful eviction, before her belongings were seized by Mr Young
She was left homeless and without her two seized terriers Fluffy and Molly, who were both put down because she couldn’t afford the $1,200 release fee
She was found to be falsely accused by her ex-husband (right), who had an affair with her friend Josephine Smith (left) and brought their marriage to an end
The money he accused his ex-wife of stealing was found to have been transferred into her account by himself.
Mr Young has since failed to pay a cent of the $3million settlement and has declared bankruptcy.
He also transferred one of his remaining assets – a $5million, three-level Sydney penthouse apartment – into the name of his new wife, who is 23 years his junior.
He will now be forced into paying a confidential sum following the court order.
Mr Young failed to pay a cent of the $3million settlement and declared bankruptcy
He will now be forced into paying a confidential sum following the court order
Ms Young’s solicitor Greg Walsh spoke outside court on Thursday, saying he now expects his client to return to ‘her native village’ in New Zealand.
‘She’s a person who’s never said anything bad about Les Young or Josephine Smith, but she’s been there and she’s continued the good fight right up until today,’ he told A Current Affair.
‘She can hopefully … acquire a house and live out the rest of her life in peace.’
Earlier, Ms Young said the legal battle was taking its toll but she would refuse to give up.
‘It’s really daunting actually, we should make a movie about it because I don’t even know what I did to them both,’ she said.