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A Nambour agent has been slapped with a fine and disqualified for using rent money to buy cryptocurrency.
Wendy Savage, the owner and operator of Belbri Properties on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, pleaded guilty in the Nambour Magistrates Court on 6 June 2022 to wrongfully transferring money from a rental trust account to her personal account for cryptocurrency trading.
Ms Savage has been fined $20,000 and given a 10-year licence disqualification.
The Office of Fair Trading presented evidence to the court that Ms Savage made a series of withdrawals between July 2020 and June 2021, totalling over $240,000 from her business’s rental trust account. She then used the money for a variety of personal and business expenses, including investing in crypto trading and paying for subscription services.
Ms Savage was charged with one count of wrongful conversion, and the penalties imposed on her took into account that all trust money had been repaid before sentencing.
Commissioner for Fair Trading Victoria Thomson said the case was a reminder to real estate agents that trust account funds are off-limits because the Property Occupations Act 2014 specifically prohibits a licensee from using trust money for any purpose other than what it was intended for.
“Agents who fail to comply with their trust account obligations will incur serious penalties,” Ms Thomson said.
She noted that real estate professionals who are unsure of their obligations should seek immediate advice rather than risk running afoul of the law.
“Agents are able to get advice from legal and financial professionals as well as from the OFT if they have questions regarding trust accounts,” she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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