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A Brisbane real estate agent has been found guilty of three counts of fraud totalling $131,000 and sentenced to over four years in jail.
Brisbane-based real estate agent and property manager Michelle Margaret Cooke has been sentenced to a 4.5-year jail term after pleading guilty to three counts of fraud.
Cooke was charged following an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading, which found that she took more than $131,000 in client funds over a seven-year period between 2013 and 2020.
Last week, on 18 March, she pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court.
Having already spent eight months in custody, Cooke was given a suspended sentence of 4.5 years by Judge Terry Gardiner.
The investigation found that Cooke manipulated trust accounting software to make 196 transfers to bank accounts belonging to her or her family members, totalling $116,376.
Additionally, Cooke contacted former tenants to pay break-lease fees or outstanding utilities into her personal account, with the 32 deposits totalling more than $15,000.
The Queensland Department of Justice said Cooke has repaid $54,517 of the misappropriated funds, but more than $77,000 remains owed.
Acting Fair Trading commissioner Craig Turner said the Office of Fair Trading was working to ensure the safety of Queensland renters and property owners and restore trust in the real estate sector.
“Real estate professionals are trusted by the community to work with large sums of other people’s money, so it is essential they follow appropriate processes at all times.”
“Any real estate agent who takes money from a trust account without proper authority is committing a crime.
“The Office of Fair Trading will continue to take action against dishonest property agents who are breaking the law,” Turner concluded.
