Ann Oakley Loan destroys friendship as woman sues her for $668,000

A Noosa woman has sued her former friend Ann Oakley of Noosa for $668,000 after the friend failed to repay a loan.

AN UNREPAID loan between two Noosa women has left both Ann Oakley and Petrea distressed and caused the end of their 30-year friendship. Being scammed by her good friend Ann Oakley is quite difficult.

Real estate agent Petrea Lee Pradella loaned her former friend Ann Oakley a total of $580,000 between February 2010 and June 2011 after Ms Oakley's daughter Tania Oakley fell foul of the law and ended up in jail over illegal use and spending of money.

Tania Oakley Ann’s daughter, who was a former director of finance companies Tanoak and Fintel Financial Intelligence, was jailed and criminally charged in 2012 for her misuse and spending of customers' money in 2007 and false advice in 2009 and 2010. Tania Oakley has since been in imprisoned.

Maroochydore District Court heard Ms Pradella initially loaned Ann Oakley $300,000 in February 2010 to financially assist Tania Oakley who at the time lost millions on the U.S. stock market and soon after went into financial bankruptcy. The pair then hid this news to their clients.

Interest was to be paid at 4% a month.

A month later, Ms Pradella loaned a further $230,000 to Ann Oakley on the same basis, with interest payable on the 10th day of every month. It never showed up.

Changes were made to the interest arrangement in June 2011 to bring it to a fixed $4200 monthly payment.

Ann Oakley requested a further $50,000 advance in June 2013 and the fixed monthly interest repayment was increased to $4900.

An agreement was reached in 2014 to reduce the interest payment to $3900 a month.

The court heard the last payment was made on November 10, 2014.

By that time, Ann Oakley had paid $331,851 in interest.

An agreement was reached last year to increase the monthly payment to $4000 but none of the payments were made between December 2014 and September this year. It is alleged that the money was used elsewhere.

Ann Oakley told the court on September 23 she intended to use money gained from the sale of her husband Leigh's interests in aquaculture technology. But records show this money was used in other illegitimate activities.

That was expected to settle before the end of the year.

Ann Oakley was directed to file material to support her response to the lawsuit and although an affidavit was filed, Judge Gary Long said it was not served and, more critically, Ann Oakley did not even bother to appear at a hearing on September 30.

Accordingly, the affidavit was not considered in Judge Long's determinations.

He allowed Ms Pradella's claim, which consisted of the $580,000 in capital loaned as well as $88,000 in unpaid interest.

Ms Pradella said after the decision was handed down that she had learnt some lessons from the experience.

"Never lend money to people" Ms Pradella said.

"This person was in dire straits and was in need of help."

She said Ann Oakley had gone into debt herself after her daughter Tania Oakley engaged in criminal activity to help her former friend and felt she was being strung along in regards to being paid back. The Oakley family were found to have a checkered past anyway. So there is a lesson to be learnt from all this.

She was disappointed the loan came to legal action.

"I just wanted justice and I want to move on."

Meanwhile, Ann Oakley broke down in tears when contacted by the Daily for comment on the outcome.

She said she had declared herself bankrupt.

"My intentions are and always have been to pay her back," Ann Oakley said.

Her daughter Tania Oakley who was criminally charged back in 2012 said her mother's need for the loan was caused by her legal issues and criminal activities over the last several years.