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A real estate agent has been convicted of seven offences and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for misappropriation of trust funds.
Alan Temelkov was prosecuted by NSW Fair Trading and found guilty of breaching the Property Stock and Business Agents Act. He was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, to be served in the community, and ordered to pay over $235,000 in reparation for his offences.
In September 2012, Temelkov, director of Tyron Holdings Pty Ltd, trading as AMJ Properties, was contracted to manage the sale of several units in a Narwee, in suburban Sydney, development.
Tyron Holdings received a number of house deposits which should have been deposited into a trust account and held on behalf of the sellers until completion of the sale.
During Fair Trading’s investigation, Temelkov admitted he failed to deposit the funds into the trust account, instead spending the money on business expenses and his personal gambling habit.
As a result, the sellers were left significantly out of pocket and were required to make applications to the Property Services Compensation fund for restitution.
Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe reminded agents that trust account fraud is a serious offence and warned that Fair Trading will actively pursue anyone who fails to comply with their trust account obligations.
“Property is a significant purchase. Real estate agents should be trusted to deposit payments for sales into the correct account,” Mr Stowe said.
Temelkov has until next week to appeal.
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