Developer Jean Nassif’s daughter Ashlyn pleads guilty to fraud after being ‘controlled’ by fugitive father

The daughter of a controversial property developer who was “controlled and manipulated” by her fugitive father has avoided jail after she provided Westpac bank with false information to help him obtain a $150m loan to construct one of Sydney’s biggest property towers.

Ashlyn Nassif, the daughter of fugitive property developer Jean Nassif, fronted Burwood Local Court on Monday after she pleaded guilty to one count of publishing false or misleading material to obtain advantage.

A further charge of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception was withdrawn.

Her father is believed to be on the run in Lebanon and while police have not charged him, officers have issued a warrant for his arrest.

On Monday afternoon, Nassif was sentenced to a six months community corrections order, with no supervision.

In sentencing, Judge Christopher Halburd noted Nassif was “extremely remorseful”, had an “enormous amount of pressure” on her and been under heavy media scrutiny.

She has also been diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

Judge Halburd said he accepted that if Nassif hadn’t been under the sway of her father, she wouldn’t have committed an offence.

“The point is the defendant before the court is not Jean Nassif … she’s not being charged and sentenced today for the vast array things her father has done,” he said.

“And that needs to be brought in line.”

Earlier, in court on Monday morning, Nassif’s barrister Murugan Thangaraj SC said she had succumbed to the immense pressure her father placed on her.

“It is well known he fled the country … he said he was sick and that he was coming back and never did,” he said.

“That was a couple years ago.”

Mr Thangaraj said Mr Nassif was “desperate for the Westpac loan” and during this time “the worst parts of his personality” came out.

Nassif and her mother had also experienced coercive control at Mr Nassif’s hands, he told the court

“That history is important, it leads to the behaviour of Ms Nassif in this case,” Mr Thangaraj said.

“She felt they were walking on eggshells.”

Mr Nassif allegedly regularly told the women they needed to lose weight and have cosmetic surgery, and that he wanted to show them off.

“How any person could leave their child to face charges which he instigated to leave her to fend for herself, to make her sell her only property and force her to move back in with her mother,” Mr Thangaraj said.

“What does that say of who he is … he always put himself first, he controls and manipulates everyone, and people all over this city will testify to that.”

Nassif has been “very frank” with her admissions of what she did wrong, the court was told.

“If he wasn’t her father, she never would’ve committed an offence,” Mr Thangaraj said.

Phone records were read to the court that the prosecution alleged displayed Ms Nassif’s knowledge and willingness to agree.

“The offender wasn’t an ordinary member of the public, Nassif was in fact the managing partner of her own law firm,” the Crown said.

Nassif faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.

The charges relate to allegations that the solicitor provided falsified documents to meet a $10.5m pre-sale condition for three towers of the Skyview apartments complex in Castle Hill in Sydney’s north-west.

Nassif was alleged to have submitted fake contracts to Westpac over three months in 2021 to obtain a $150m loan to fund about 900 apartments.

The $900m apartment tower complex was built by Mr Nassif’s development company Toplace, which collapsed in 2023.

Nassif was suspended from practising law by the NSW Law Society after the fraud charges were laid in 2023.