![\"Australian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783894031_0_437c249dabadb727dde87d57dcc4d0c9ea81a96d.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAs Charlie and Ruby were trying to make ends meet in Melbourne by working shifts at Coles, Monkivitch was on his dine-and-dash tear across Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Around midnight on April 24, he popped in to Canteen, a bistro in Hong Kong\u2019s central district, and ordered the barramundi and two beers. When it came time to settle the $HK284 bill, he told waitstaff he needed to withdraw money from a nearby ATM, court documents show. Once out the door, he fled.<\/p>\n
A day earlier, Charlie had sent him a panicked email requesting a full accounting of all fees, investments and spending related to their inheritance, and asking for the remaining money to be deposited into Ruby\u2019s bank account.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have asked for our money several times,\u201d Charlie wrote on April 23. \u201cNot being able to release our own money for Ruby\u2019s [birthday] or a car, has caused us confusion and extreme worry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope you are OK and hope you can provide all these documents or at least return the money we were left by our dad to Ruby\u2019s bank account ASAP.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monkivitch responded the afternoon after his midnight barramundi dash, emailing a letter labelled \u201cstrictly private and confidential\u201d and designed to look like professional legal communication. It contained a dismissive, unprofessional response.<\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate that Ruby \u2018needs\u2019 a car, but does she, really?\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cMotor vehicles have not been good to you or for your family (trust me, sustained periods of walking will hold Rubes in a far superior position).\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Charlie,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fc4ce441686fa146ee3b8c38606de3e058ab539e.jpeg\")
Charlie, left, and Ruby Nemet. \u201cI\u2019m so angry at myself, and I feel so stupid,\u201d Charlie says.Ruby Alexander<\/p>\n
It was a glib reference to serious car accidents that Charlie and her mother had separately been in, three years apart, that had required hospitalisation and surgery.<\/p>\n
In the letter, Monkivitch said the invested money was now worth $US165,000 ($237,627), and funds were sitting in a Hong Kong HSBC bank account. Despite a WhatsApp message to Charlie since then asking which account she wanted the money returned to, he is yet to provide proof the funds are in that account, including in response to requests by this masthead.<\/p>\n
He signed the letter, \u201cLove you, as always\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no friendship. He was our lawyer,\u201d Charlie says of the overly familiar tone.<\/p>\n
Looking back, one of the questions Charlie asks herself \u2013 if what she fears is true \u2013 is whether Monkivitch had ill intentions from the outset, or whether he seemingly took advantage of an extraordinary set of circumstances as they unfurled.<\/p>\n
![\"Charlie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a264140da8b70f467c52d54d3cb1c61ac4bba1db.jpeg\")
Charlie holds a cushion with a picture of her parents, Zoe and George.Ruby Alexander<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be completely honest. I\u2019m so angry at myself, and I feel so stupid,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow have I let this happen? But I was also going through so much. I wasn\u2019t even able to grieve my dad, and then my mum died, and then I had to be guardian to Ruby. That was so hard, being her sole caregiver \u2013 that just created a horrible imbalance in our relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was dealing with that, and I was working full-time, just so we had enough money to pay for stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
In many ways, the Nemet children were the perfect marks. Their story is one shaped by tragedy, hardship and legal battles from a young age, which conspired to put them in a very vulnerable position.<\/p>\n
In August 2022, their mother Zoe was severely injured in a car accident when another vehicle veered into oncoming traffic and ploughed into her car, killing her passenger. Zoe had part of her bowel removed and was bedridden for months. She never returned to her job at Coles.<\/p>\n
When George Nemet died from a brain haemorrhage a year later in September 2023, aged 44, Charlie became her mum\u2019s carer.<\/p>\n
Then, just seven months on, Zoe died from heart failure, aged 49, leaving the teenagers without parents.<\/p>\n
\u2018He seemed trustworthy, and honestly, I didn\u2019t know much about him.\u2019<\/p>\n
Charlie Nemet<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the Nemets also left their daughters with legal bills from Rizkallah Partners, a law firm specialising in estates that had a lengthy association with the family. At the time of their deaths, the Nemets had been locked in a bitter feud with George\u2019s siblings over claims to the family home in Sunshine, which had originally belonged to George\u2019s father.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how Monkivitch entered their lives in April 2024 \u2013 on the recommendation of one of their mum\u2019s friends, as someone who could help them navigate a way through the mess.<\/p>\n
Charlie says her understanding was that Monkivitch would be offering legal advice in a largely pro bono capacity. Her grandmother and a family friend each gave him $5000 to assist with legal costs. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 1000 per cent positive I\u2019ve never signed a cost agreement with Sam,\u201d Charlie says, referring to the standard legal contract between lawyers and clients laying out how fees will be billed.<\/p>\n
In the two years she knew him, she says they met in person only a handful of times, usually in Melbourne\u2019s CBD. She says his legal advice was often given over the phone or in a WhatsApp group with her sister.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first met him, he told me he lived here in Melbourne, but he travelled to Hong Kong for his job,\u201d Charlie says.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe seemed trustworthy, and honestly, I didn\u2019t know much about him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
At the time, Monkivitch was employed as an independent contractor by Hong Kong-based KorumLegal, which is not a law firm but an alternative legal services provider. His contract was terminated in October when allegations concerning his business practices came to light.<\/p>\n
Hands-on role<\/p>\n
Monkivitch quickly assumed a more hands-on role in the sisters\u2019 legal affairs. Over the following months, he advised Charlie to take two consequential courses of action.<\/p>\n
The first was to put their inheritance in a discretionary family trust, with Charlie and Ruby as joint beneficiaries and Monkivitch as the appointor. This arrangement would weaken the sisters\u2019 control over their money from the outset.<\/p>\n
He set up a company called Nemet Family Investments Pty Ltd to serve as trustee of the family trust, and he had himself appointed co-director alongside Charlie, with her consent.<\/p>\n
![\"Monkivitch,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ce085a07d27810f3f8a42436d307d99660b87d52.jpeg\")
Monkivitch, pictured in Melbourne this month, quickly assumed a more hands-on role in the sisters\u2019 legal affairs.A Current Affair<\/p>\n
Together, in February 2025, they opened a Commonwealth Bank account in the trustee company\u2019s name, with joint access, for the purpose of investing the money. \u201cHe said to me: \u2018Let\u2019s put all of the money into a business transaction account. That way we can invest the money\u2019,\u201d Charlie says.<\/p>\n
By now, there was $319,115.12 left in George\u2019s estate, and Charlie authorised all of it to be transferred into this new account. <\/p>\n
The second significant action Monkivitch advised Charlie to take was to refuse to pay outstanding legal fees to Rizkallah Partners, which would have taken a $54,000 chunk out of the inheritance.<\/p>\n
But by refusing to pay, Charlie was sued for bankruptcy by Rizkallah Partners. Under corporations law, this meant she was disqualified from being a company director and so she was removed from her position as co-director of Nemet Family Investments, leaving Monkivitch in sole control.<\/p>\n
As the bankruptcy process was under way in October 2025, Charlie was injured in a car accident and underwent spinal fusion surgery, requiring months of recovery. Monkivitch later said they discussed the personal implications of bankruptcy \u201cat length\u201d before jointly agreeing not to pay the debt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m crying on the phone to him, and he\u2019s like, \u2018it\u2019s OK. There\u2019s nothing to worry about\u2019,\u201d she says, adamant that he never advised that she would be removed as co-director as a result.<\/p>\n
\u2018There\u2019s some very, very distorted truth.\u2019<\/p>\n
Sam Monkivitch<\/p>\n
When the $15,245 insurance money for her written-off Kia Cerato was paid out, she put it in the trust account so Monkivitch could invest it. She withdrew money, too \u2013 about $26,000 over the year for what she says were everyday living expenses for her and Ruby.<\/p>\n
By the time Charlie was officially declared bankrupt in November, Monkivitch had been transferring money into his personal account for months, making almost daily deposits mostly ranging from a few hundred dollars up to $5000.<\/p>\n
As director and controller of the trustee company, he had a duty to ensure it acted in the best interests of the beneficiaries and avoided personal conflicts.<\/p>\n
Instead, he transferred about $300,000 into his personal bank account over the course of a year, allegedly without providing invoices or proper documentation. This included about $117,000 over dozens of transfers that he variously described on bank statements as legal fees, barrister fees, filing fees or professional fees. It also included about $167,000 of deposits into his account labelled as \u201cinvestments\u201d, almost $7000 in \u201caccountant fees\u201d, and almost $9000 listed as \u201cterm deposit\u201d.<\/p>\n
Legal firms that Monkivitch said he paid using these funds have rejected his claims in writing, and some have said they have outstanding bills for work he sought on behalf of the Nemets. There was also no need for Monkivitch to pay bills by transferring money to himself first, when he could have paid directly from the trust transaction account, which is how some legitimate bills were settled.<\/p>\n
![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/c07312bdfd88771d29c01779a8a995007dcf1415.jpeg\")
Screen grab from social media in Hong Kong of Samuel Monkivitch being pursued by restaurant staff over unpaid bills.Threads (Meta)<\/p>\n
On one occasion when he did pay a $4000 bill directly from the trust account, it appears to be for another client of his in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Cornwalls, a large Melbourne law firm that employed Monkivitch in the early 2000s, said it had received the $4000 payment \u201con account of legal work performed for a Hong Kong client at the request of Sam Monkivitch\u201d. The firm informed Charlie it couldn\u2019t disclose the client\u2019s identity due to confidentiality obligations, in an email seen by this masthead.<\/p>\n
Monkivitch also said he placed $15,000 with Cornwalls for the Nemets to use in future estate matters. The firm told Charlie it held no money in connection with her family.<\/p>\n
One traceable investment \u2013 $92,000 put in a two-year term deposit with the Commonwealth Bank \u2013 was unwound after only four months. Monkivitch said it needed to be put offshore and out of reach of the bankruptcy trustee, which was chasing Charlie\u2019s debts.<\/p>\n
He put in writing what he says he did when the money landed back in the account.<\/p>\n
\u201cI immediately transferred those funds to my personal ANZ bank account and in turn deposited them in my Web3 in-app trading account,\u201d he wrote in a report to the Nemets on June 15.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m crying on the phone to him, and he\u2019s like, \u2018it\u2019s OK. There\u2019s nothing to worry about\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlie Nemet<\/p>\n
\u201cFor tax and other strategic reasons, I invested in stablecoins,\u201d he wrote, saying he then put the funds, along with some of his own money, in an HSBC holding account \u201cin my name\u201d.<\/p>\n
The \u201cco-mingled funds\u201d, which he said included $154,5000 of trust money, were \u201cimmediately frozen\u201d by HSBC under its customer due diligence processes and he would need to return to Hong Kong to gain access to it.<\/p>\n
Dodgy invoices<\/p>\n
Even before Monkivitch began dipping into the trust bank account, he had billed Charlie $18,825 in fees mostly associated with setting up the trust.<\/p>\n
Between September 2024 and February 2025, he issued 10 invoices, all of which were defective. They contained no breakdown of his hourly rate, or company registration details, or itemised GST. But more importantly, Monkivitch issued them using his KorumLegal email, and referred to \u201cour bank account\u201d for payment.<\/p>\n
Only one bank account was listed on the invoice \u2013 Monkivitch\u2019s personal ANZ account. Charlie paid him using a combination of inheritance money and personal savings.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until October 2025 that Monkivitch\u2019s employer, KorumLegal, became aware of his conduct, after Arkin Kaman, a partner at Rizkallah Partners, emailed the company and sounded the alarm.<\/p>\n
In a statement, KorumLegal confirmed Monkivitch\u2019s contract had been terminated, and it said his conduct contravened its \u201cstandards of professionalism, integrity and accountability\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cMr Monkivitch was never authorised to use KorumLegal\u2019s name or email address for private client work,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
The firm has reported him to the Victorian Legal Services Board, as has Kaman.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Monkivitch\u2019s actions \u2013 particularly in placing himself in a position of joint financial control and directorship over her inheritance \u2013 raise grave concerns about the exploitation of a vulnerable client,\u201d Kaman wrote in a complaint lodged in September.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt no point did I witness any steps taken by him to ensure Ms Nemet had independent advice or a clear understanding of the implications of the structures he implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back in Melbourne, Monkivitch is showing no sign that his jail stint or pleas from the Nemets for their money have had any impact. Instead, he ran out on a bill at a hairdresser\u2019s, appearing to go back to pay only after being approached by a reporter from A Current Affair. A Current Affair is owned by Nine Entertainment, the owner of this masthead.<\/p>\n
Charlie doesn\u2019t know if she and Ruby will ever get their money back, but she wants to ensure Monkivitch can\u2019t strike again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want him to do it to anybody, ever again,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Beijing: On March 23, Australian lawyer Samuel Monkivitch sat down at a Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong\u2019s Causeway…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":796278,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[64,63,99,186,184,185],"class_list":["post-796277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Australian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/437c249dabadb727dde87d57dcc4d0c9ea81a96d.jpeg\")
Australian lawyer Samuel Monkivitch has become infamous on Hong Kong social media.Michael Howard<\/p>\n![\"Charlie,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/635e6398e54c5aed335189ab03a597dbe06e53dc.jpeg\")
Charlie, right, and Ruby Nemet trusted Samuel Monkivitch with their inheritance.Ruby Alexander<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cf15801ef6524a813018b319a01cdeec4fe1447d687aef13fbd6bb59700343fd.jpeg\")
A ramen restaurant in Hong Kong\u2019s Wan Chai neighbourhood displays Monkivitch\u2019s photo in its window, accusing him of dining and leaving without settling the bill.Selina Cheng<\/p>\n