The mistress of a wealthy businessman has successfully claimed his $40 million estate after he left his entire fortune to his daughter.
Giovanni “John” Angius, 85, of Sydney, died a week after testing positive for Covid in January 2022 and left his estate to his daughter Jenny.
His mistress Thi Quy Le, 61, and granddaughter Natalie Angius, 34, have separately taken legal action claiming they both have a right to his will.
The family’s dark and bloody history was exposed in the NSW Supreme Court and included revelations that Mr Angius began an affair with Ms Le while he was still married to his wife Laura Angius.
Ms Angius was found dead at the bottom of the stairs of her $6 million home in Coogee, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, in 2012, and Angius’s son Robert accused his father of playing a role in her death.
Court documents revealed the married couple had a strained relationship and a violence order had been made against Mr Angius five years earlier.
That same year, Mrs Angius took her daughter Jenny to the solicitors to draw up a will to protect her children in case she died before her husband.
Mr Angius owned a collision repair business in Waterloo, where he met Ms Le, 27 years his junior, in 2000.
Thi Quy Le, the mistress of wealthy businessman John Angius, successfully claimed her estate.
She claims they began having an affair in 2003, while he was still married to his wife.
From 2005 to 2008, Ms Le managed a snooker business in Coogee, which was owned by Mr Angius and his wife.
In February 2007, Ms Angius confronted her husband at the business and alleged that he was having an affair with Ms Le.
The same argument occurred again a month later at their home in Coogee, with Ms Angius suffering injuries after a fall.
She alleged Mr Angius had hit her, which he denied, the Supreme Court heard.
A restraining order was filed against Mr. Angius on behalf of his wife and he was charged with assault.
Mr. Angius pleaded guilty, but no conviction was recorded, according to court documents.
According to a police report, Robert allegedly confronted Ms Le at his father’s car repair business and told her to “get out of the shop in Coogee” in May 2007.
An AVO was filed against Robert on behalf of Ms Le, court documents say.
In June 2007, Ms Le was also granted an interim restraining order against Ms Angius, which remained in effect for two years.
Pictured is the house where Laura Angius was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in Coogee, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Mr and Mrs Angius eventually separated in 2011, causing a major rift in the family.
Mr. Angius’s daughter, Jenny, sided with her mother, while his son Robert sided with his mother, according to court documents.
Mr Angius made his final will in April 2021, with neither Ms Le nor Natalie listed as beneficiaries.
Following his death on January 31, 2022, a funeral was held on February 5, attended by Ms. Le and Natalie.
Less than a week after the funeral, Ms. Le began the process to claim her share of the lawsuit. Natalie began the process just under a year later, in January 2023.
In her testimony to the court, Natalie had claimed that during a visit to see her grandfather when he was ill in hospital in June 2021, he told her that his will had been “rushed” and “I need to change it”.
She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014 and said Angius provided her with regular financial support as an adult, including giving her cash when she was not eligible for Centrelink.
In return, the court heard that Natalie had helped her grandfather for the last five years of his life, doing things like shopping, cooking and helping with paperwork and administrative tasks.
The 34-year-old woman lives at home with her mother and does not work; her various medical conditions are severely affecting her life.
Ms Le’s claim that she was living as Mr Angius’s de facto partner was not accepted by Judge Mark Richmond, but he accepted they had a “close personal relationship” at the time of her death.
According to court documents, between 2003 and 2011, Mr. Angius gave Ms. Le $1,000 each week as an allowance.
He also paid for household expenses such as food, as well as Ms Le’s shopping, groceries, cosmetics, meals out and visits to nail salons.
Mr Angius also paid Ms Le Run’s laundry bills, as well as paying for her car insurance and maintenance.
He also gave her between $2,000 and $3,000 seven times a year on special occasions, including Christmas and Valentine’s Day.
Ms Le had recorded conversations between her and Mr Angius in 2019 and 2021, to prove that she had a de facto relationship with him.
According to court documents, in one of the conversations the couple discussed her will, to which Angius responded that Le was “very greedy” and also asked her if she “deserved” to be included.
Mr Angius was also known to refer to Ms Le as “the Chinese lady”.
Ms Le and Natalie’s cases were heard in court on several dates from October last year through February, with Judge Richmond issuing a decision on August 1.
He ruled that Ms. Le was entitled to ownership of a block of units Mr. Angius owned in Waterloo, which she ran as a laundromat, and $250,000.
Ms Le had claimed she was owed $31,000 to buy a new car and accommodation similar to the Coogee home owned by Mr Angius where she had been staying for a time, valued at $3.45 million.
He also asked for “an amount of cash that will allow him to live comfortably in his old age.”
Natalie, who also lives with incontinence and is at high risk of ending up in a wheelchair, received $2.5 million from the estate.
Natalie had requested $950,000 for a medically-suitable apartment, $100,000 for a medically-suitable car, and a sum sufficient to provide a cushion and income for future medical and care needs.
Mr. Angius’s estate was valued at $38 million, with $29.5 million after liabilities.