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A former Newmarket real estate agent will spend time behind bars for the mishandling of over $58,000 in trust money and other misdemeanors.
Graham John Patterson pleaded guilty to one count of trust account fraud to the Brisbane Supreme Court on 13 June 2023.
Mr Patterson was previously the co-director of Warragrove, which traded as Leo & Co Property Management. In September 2018, he resigned as director but continued to be employed as the licensee in charge.
The court had heard that between December 2018 and May 2019, Mr Patterson wrote 56 cheques from the trust accounts under the firm’s management.
Over that period, a total of $58,377 was unlawfully transferred from the trust account to six separate bank accounts across three different banking institutions, with Mr Patterson as the sole signatory for all of these accounts.
Following an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Queensland Police, it was shown that the director of Warragrove, who held authority over the trust account, did not grant Mr Patterson permission or authorisation to utilise or withdraw the funds.
While Mr Patterson was sentenced to three years in prison for mishandling the funds, he also faced legal consequences for his involvement in other matters related to Queensland Police, which led to an additional five-year prison sentence.
Overall, the former agent received a cumulative sentence of eight years of imprisonment.
Notably, the director of Warragrove fully reimbursed the trust account with the entire amount.
Fair Trading Commissioner Victoria Thomson reminded that “trust money does not belong to agents”. In the same vein, she stressed that agents misusing it would be held accountable.
“It can’t be borrowed or used for any purpose outside of its authorised use.
“Matters of fraud are serious and the Office of Fair Trading will investigate and take action against those who mishandle trust money,” Ms Thomson said.
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