Sep 5, 2026 – 5.00amSarah, her husband and her two children settled on their first home, a Bathla Group-built house in the western Sydney suburb of Riverstone, in October last year, paying just over $1 million for the property.The red flags started appearing early on. “There was a down payment, and I remember the sales agent said, ‘Please release the money because we need it just to complete the construction’,” says Sarah (not her real name).Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Primrose RiordanAssociate editorPrimrose Riordan covers private companies and family offices from the AFR’s Sydney newsroom. Primrose was previously a correspondent for the Financial Times and worked in Canberra. Message Primrose on Signal: Primrose.55 or https://tinyurl.com/PrimroseSignalMax MasonCourts and crime correspondentMax Mason covers financial crime, courts and corporate wrongdoing for The Australian Financial Review. Send encrypted tips to maxepmason.14 on messaging platform Signal (tinyurl.com/MaxMason).Jonathan ShapiroSenior reporterJonathan Shapiro writes about banking and finance, specialising in hedge funds, corporate debt, private equity and investment banking. He is based in Sydney.Fetching latest articles