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A former Sunshine Coast agent has been fined and disqualified from practising after mishandling trust money.
Anita Margaret Humphreys and her real estate company Terreno Management in Sippy Downs in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast was found guilty by the Maroochydore Magistrates Court last week.
Ms Humphreys received a $60,000 fine and was disqualified from holding a licence for 10 years after being charged by the Office of Fair Trading for misusing trust money.
In addition, Ms Humphreys was sentenced to three months imprisonment, which was suspended for 12 months.
In court, Ms Humphreys pleaded guilty to two charges of acting as an unlicensed property agent, wrongful conversion of trust monies and false accounts as an agent.
The OFT began investigating Ms Humphreys in March 2017 after complaints from the agency’s clients of poor rental management.
The court was told that between May and October 2017, Ms Humphreys had falsified trust account records and misappropriated funds, leading to a shortfall of $121,728 in the trust account.
The investigations revealed that the former agent has mismanaged her payments, failed to pay rent to property owners and had failed to lodge rental bonds with the Residential Tenancies Authority.
Ms Humphreys admitted to the court that many entries in the agency’s banking software had been falsified to keep her actions undiscovered.
Despite a warning from the Office of Fair Trading, Ms Humphreys continued to operate as a real estate salesperson until October 2017.
This was several months after Terreno Management’s licence was suspended and her own principal licence expiring in August.
Fair Trading executive director Brian Bauer said that agents who mishandled clients’ money degraded consumer confidence in the industry.
“The OFT is pleased with this result and Ms Humphreys’ removal from the real estate industry,” Mr Bauer said.
“Trust account laws exist to protect clients’ money, and the penalty handed down is a reminder that agents must act fairly and lawfully.”
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