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A prestige property real estate agent has been charged with 15 fraud offences after allegedly misusing more than $3 million from her agency’s trust account.
Director of Unique Estates Nicolette van Wijngaarden has been accused of fraudulently dealing with home deposits paid to her company to the value of $3.69 million, according to Fairfax Media.
Ms van Wijngaarden has also been accused of falsely representing that more than $1 million from rental properties would remain in the Unique Estates trust account until the money was paid to the property owners.
The charges span from May 2016 to February 2018 and relate to high-end properties in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
Fairfax Media said that in late August, Ms van Wijngaarden was charged by the NSW Department of Fair Trading with 10 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and five counts of “licensee fraudulently convert money more than $5,000”, relating to trust money being “converted” for use by a corporation or individual.
It said that NSW Director of Public Prosecutions took over the case in September.
Unique Estates was placed into liquidation in May, owing an estimated $4 million to 26 employees and other unsecured creditors.
The matter will return to court on 8 November.
More to follow.
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