Image via Herald Sun
Questions over the authenticity of key documents have intensified a long-running dispute involving Melbourne investor Alex Waislitz and sisters Rebekah and Venus Behbahani. According to the Australian Financial Review, a forensic handwriting analysis has cast doubt on signatures used to transfer shares in Behbahani Productions, an enterprise the sisters founded together.
At the centre of the conflict is a series of 2021 share transactions that ultimately left Behbahani Productions owned equally by entities controlled by Rebekah and Waislitz. Venus, a lawyer by training and a former Real Housewives of Melbourne cast member, maintains she never approved the transfers and never signed the documents authorising them. She argues her agreement to relinquish her stake was conditional on receiving a Toorak townhouse, an arrangement she says was never honoured.
To support her claim, Venus’ legal team engaged forensic handwriting specialist Tahnee Dewhurst, who examined signatures on the disputed share transfer forms and director resolutions. Dewhurst compared the questioned signatures with specimen signatures from 2014 to 2022 and concluded they were unlikely to be genuine. Her analysis noted that while the signatures appeared modelled on authentic samples, they demonstrated construction and formation inconsistencies significant enough to suggest they were written by someone else.
The expert further observed that the disputed signatures were executed in pencil, an unusual choice for corporate documentation and one that complicates forensic evaluation but does not prevent identifying discrepancies. Despite natural variation in Venus’ authentic signatures, Dewhurst found the overall consistency of the specimen set reinforced the conclusion that the contested signatures were not hers.
Rebekah’s camp has rejected the allegations, signalling that they intend to file counter-expert evidence to support the legitimacy of the documents. A spokesperson expressed confidence that the court will ultimately accept their position.
Venus, who has four children including one with special needs, says the forensic findings vindicate her decision to pursue legal action. She argues the townhouse promise was used to secure her silence during the breakdown of Rebekah and Waislitz’s relationship in 2019, leaving her bound by confidentiality while receiving none of the agreed-upon consideration.
The proceedings now broaden a pattern of high-stakes disputes surrounding Waislitz. He recently resolved a separate legal battle with ex-wife Heloise Pratt, who had alleged irregularities in company records relating to financial distributions. That matter settled shortly before trial.
As the Supreme Court of Victoria prepares to weigh competing expert opinions on the signatures, the case underscores the legal and ethical complexities that arise when family, business, and high-value assets intersect, especially in an environment where documentary authenticity is under direct forensic challenge.
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