A former agent has been convicted and sentenced to a three-year community corrections order and 300 hours of unpaid community work for withdrawing more than $100,000 from her agency’s trust account.
Prior to her contesting of an eight-day trial was to commence in the Melbourne County Court, Kylie Jane Campbell pleaded guilty to two charges, each of causing a deficiency in her company’s trust account and wrongful conversion of funds.
According to Consumer Affairs Victoria, the court had heard that Ms Campbell withdrew $100,000 from her company’s trust account back in February 2018 and intended to use the funds as part of a deposit for a commercial property in Melbourne’s Lonsdale Street.
Consumer Affairs Victoria revealed it first kicked off an investigation against Ms Campbell when two witnesses made claims against the Victorian Property Fund. Two further witnesses then also came forward to provide statements.
After pleading guilty, Ms Campbell was sentenced to a three-year community corrections order. She was also ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid community work and repay $94,000 to the Victorian Property Fund for money paid to compensate former clients.
According to Consumer Affairs Victoria director Nicole Rich, the action taken by the agency against Ms Campbell reflected that it would hold agents accountable if they misuse money from their trust account.
Calling Ms Campbell’s actions “an abuse of her clients’ trust for personal gain”, the director stressed that “clients should be able to feel at ease knowing their trust account funds are managed by professionals”.
She also considered the misconduct as “a disservice to the wider industry, risking damage to its reputation and that of the majority of agents who fulfil their legal responsibilities”.
