Foul Play ...Or On The Run?!

Sydney businesswoman Melissa went missing just a day after police raided her home for allegedly masterminding a $13 million fraud

- Brigid Auchettl

When Melissa Caddick’s teenage son heard the front door click shut at 5.30am on November 12, he assumed his mother was simply leaving for her regular morning run around Sydney’s glitzy Eastern Suburbs. However, she didn’t take her keys, phone and wallet – and hasn’t been seen since.

The 49-year-old mother’s disappearance came just after a 13-hour police raid on her home, which was part of an investigation into a reported $13 million fraud case involving the businesswoman. Now, new details have emerged about her big spending spree just days before she vanished.

UNDER INVESTIGATION

Confiding to a Sydney jeweller, Melissa said she recently sold a New York property while paying for a $100,000 necklace she has not yet collected.

It’s a vital lead in the missing person investigation, which has perplexed police for more than a month.

The mother-of-one, who shares a $6.2 million Dover Heights NSW home with her husband, hairdresser Anthony Koletti, 38, has been the subject of the three-month investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

The watchdog has been looking into whether Melissa’s company, Maliver Pty Ltd, has been swindling investors out of millions. It is believed more than 60 people have lost about $13.1 million investing with Melissa or Maliver.

She was due to face Federal Court on November 13.