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A Gold Coast real estate agent has been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for three years, after misappropriating more than $500,000 in trust money.
Alyce Jade Kebblewhite, of AJK Property, received the sentence after pleading guilty to 10 offences in the Southport Magistrates Court, the Queensland Department of Justice confirmed.
It was revealed that Kebblewhite undertook 592 transactions between April 2022 and June 2024, totalling $508,270.
Of the 10 offences, Kebblewhite pleaded guilty to five charges of failing to disburse trust money and four charges of failing to deposit money into a trust account within the required timeframe.
Eight tenants and seven property owners were impacted by the conduct, with some tenants told they were in arrears.
The Queensland government revealed that some of the affected tenants were not proficient in English, with the Department of Justice outlining “which compounded their vulnerability”.
Queensland’s acting commissioner for Fair Trading, Allannah Traill, issued a warning to the industry, stating: “trust money does not belong to agents”.
“The behaviour in this case demonstrated deception and dishonesty. She had no consideration for how her actions affected her clients, at times blatantly lying to them, and making excuses for non-payment,” Traill said.
“The Office of Fair Trading takes complaints about the misappropriation of trust money seriously and we are committed to investigating and prosecuting these matters.”
It comes just months after a Logan real estate agent and her company were fined $20,000 after falsifying trust account books and records.
Rochedale South agent Kyla Anne Gale pleaded guilty to the offences in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Thursday, following an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading.
In total, Gale’s offences included 21 counts of knowingly making false entries into her company’s trust account books and records, six counts of failing to make proper payments from the trust account, one count of failing to lodge an annual audit report, and one count of failing to keep proper books and records.
But the tumultuous year for trust accounting has not been limited to Queensland's real estate sector, with Victoria's consumer affairs watchdog issuing a warning to agents that trust account misuse will be in the spotlight.
Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) issued a warning to real estate agents and conveyancers in September that trust account misuse will be under increased scrutiny, following a string of disciplinary actions.
CAV, which oversees consumer rights in Victoria, indicated it was stepping up oversight of trust account compliance to protect consumers’ money.
The statement from CAV warned that “poor management of trust accounts in the real estate industry is under the spotlight.”
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