(Editor's note: "The Family" is not to be confused with the NRM "The Family International")
Sydney, Australia - The Family cult leader Anne Hamilton-Byrne has paid six-figure sums to two former "followers" who sued her for alleged damage done to them in their childhoods.
Hamilton-Byrne settled the cases for payouts of an estimated $250,000 each.
In the first case, Hamilton-Byrne's granddaughter, Rebecca Cook-Hamilton, sued her in 2007, alleging she had developed psychiatric and psychological illnesses.
She alleged the injuries were caused by the "cruel and inhumane treatment" she had received from Hamilton-Byrne and her servants, including beatings, being locked in a freezing shed overnight and being forced to take tranquilisers.
Ms Cook-Hamilton also alleged her grandmother failed to provide adequate food.
In the second case, cult survivor Anouree Crawford brought a case alleging she was beaten, starved and drugged.
Hamilton-Byrne is also being sued by a former cult member over an aborted property transaction in the late 1990s.
In a writ filed in the Supreme Court, Cynthia Chan alleges she paid Hamilton-Byrne $352,115 to buy a property in Olinda, but that she never transferred.
The writ also alleges Ms Chan paid Hamilton-Byrne $70,400 for another property, which was also never transferred to her.
Hamilton-Byrne said she had no recollection of the matter.
In the 1980s, police estimated Hamilton-Byrne's wealth at more than $50 million.