A 78-year-old grandmother has been sentenced to two years and four months in prison for fraud, after she and her son falsely claimed squatter's rights to a $3.67 million property in Glebe, Sydney. Her son, Andrew Colquhoun, 40, received an 18-month community corrections order.
Margaret Colquhoun and her son were found guilty of dishonestly obtaining the property by deception, fabricating statutory declarations about when they moved into the home. The court heard that the property, part of a deceased estate, was managed by the law firm of Margaret's husband, Peter Colquhoun. While Peter Colquhoun also faced charges, they were dropped during the trial as prosecutors could not prove his involvement in the deception.
The case centered on adverse possession, a legal principle that allows individuals to claim ownership of a vacant property after openly occupying it for at least 12 consecutive years without forcing entry or the owner's consent. The property in question belonged to Ansis Neilands, who died in 1995, leaving his relatives in the United States as beneficiaries. Mr. Neilands' neighbor, Alex Huszti, who had cared for him, engaged Mr. Colquhoun's law firm to manage the estate. Huszti was later appointed creditor of the estate until his death in 2002. The property was rented out at a reduced rate between 1997 and 2002 due to its poor condition.
Around 2003, Margaret Colquhoun began acting as the property manager and, after renovations, tenants moved in. Between February 2004 and January 2011, approximately $184,000 in rental payments were deposited into her bank account. She paid land tax until October 2010, when her son and his partner moved into the property and began paying council fees.
In 2013, Margaret and Andrew Colquhoun initiated their claim for ownership under adverse possession. Margaret signed a statutory declaration stating they had jointly possessed the property since November 1, 2000, and that it had been abandoned since then. Andrew made a similar declaration. Their application was successful, and ownership was registered in 2015.
However, the Crown argued that their claims were false, as the property was tenanted during the period they claimed to have possessed it. The judge found that Margaret Colquhoun and her son engaged in multiple deceptions in documents between 2013 and 2014, leading to their fraud convictions. During sentencing, Judge Alister Abadee noted the lack of remorse shown by the mother and son. Andrew Colquhoun's sentence was mitigated by his role as a primary caregiver for his and his wife's nine children. Margaret Colquhoun's defense for a lighter sentence, citing her husband's cognitive decline, was not accepted. She was taken into custody, with parole eligibility in October 2027.