Private secretary of billionaire philanthropist Judith Neilson charged with fraud over $1m luxury purchases

The former private secretary of billionaire philanthropist Judith Neilson has been charged with dozens of counts of fraud after she allegedly used a business credit card to make more than $1m of purchases, including luxury clothing, artwork and jewellery.

Annalouise Spence, 50, was due to appear at a bail court hearing on Thursday after being charged with 68 counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception.

She was arrested on Wednesday morning in Erskineville, in Sydney’s inner west, after officers executed search warrants at the home and a storage unit in Campbelltown, police said.

“During the search, officers located and seized luxury handbags, jewellery, clothing, documents and other personal items,” New South Wales police said in a statement.

Police said an investigation began in November last year into “alleged fraudulent expense claims made by an employee of a Chippendale business”.

Spence allegedly used a business credit account to make “unauthorised purchases of luxury and personal items, including clothing, artwork and jewellery” between March 2023 and September 2025.

“The alleged unauthorised purchases totalled more than $1m,” police said.

Neilson, who founded the Judith Neilson Institute in 2018 to the tune of $100m, has wide philanthropic interests and owns the White Rabbit art gallery in Chippendale.

The institute “champions quality journalism and storytelling in Australia”, according to its website.

According to the Australian Financial Review’s 2025 rich list, she has a net worth of about $1.2bn.

Spence began working as a private secretary to Neilson in March 2017, according to her LinkedIn profile. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wednesday that the alleged “industrial-scale fraud” was detected after a restructuring of Neilson’s office resulted in Spence leaving her role in September last year.

While doing her employer’s accounts, Neilson’s new executive assistant reportedly noticed a $58,600 bill from July on “a rare pink-gold Rolex wristwatch” from a shop in London, followed by a bill for $21,000 from luxury department store Harrods. Neilson, who does not wear expensive jewellery, was not in the UK at the time, the Herald reported.

Spence allegedly spent $400,000 on travel, $335,000 on fashion items and $184,000 on jewellery. The Herald reported she allegedly transferred almost $1m of Neilson’s Qantas frequent flyer points for her own use.

Nielson’s team reportedly hired “a risk and crisis manager” in November and had been working with NSW police.

Police said investigations were continuing. Following her arrest, Spence was refused bail to appear before a virtual bail court later on Thursday.