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The agent fraudulently withdrew money from trust accounts to fund his gambling habit.
Brisbane real estate agent Peter Lakidis has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years and seven-and-a-half-years, served concurrently, after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud.
Between November 2020 and May 2022, Lakidis misappropriated over $1.4 million of clients’ money from trust accounts, most of which he spent on gambling.
The Brisbane District Court heard that Lakidis withdrew 23 cheques, ranging from $200 to $40,000, while employed at a Bowen Hills rental agency.
To draw from the trust account, Lakidis forged the signatures of agency directors. He also created false entries in the agency’s accounting software to cover up his actions.
At a second real estate agency in Brendale, Lakidis transferred over $1.2 million from the trust account into his personal bank accounts and online gambling accounts, with 246 fraudulent transfers made in total.
The court heard that Lakidis attempted to conceal the fact that the trust account was in deficit by transferring gambling winnings, and money loaned from friends, back into the account.
The money has now been returned to the two Brisbane agencies.
Judge Ian Dearden, who oversaw the hearing, noted the agent’s “serious sustained criminal offending” and “profound dishonesty”.
Observing that online gambling providers are obligated to “ensure harm minimisation and source of funds controls are built into their operations”, the state’s Office of Fair Trading has also referred this matter to the appropriate regulator.
Victoria Thomson, Commissioner for Fair Trading, warned that “any real estate agent who intentionally takes money from a trust account without proper authority is committing a crime”.
“Queensland renters and property owners expect real estate agents to handle their money properly, in accordance with the law.”
“The Office of Fair Trading will continue to take action against dishonest property agents who have a disregard for their legal obligations and the sanctity of money held in trust,” said Thomson.
A number of agents have faced consequences for trust account abuse in recent months, including a jailed former agent from Sydney’s eastern suburbs who was sentenced to home detention after raiding the company’s trust account.
In Perth, an agent who used almost $30,000 of settlement funds for personal expenditure was permanently banned from working as a settlement agent, while a Melbourne agent faced suspension for allegedly neglecting trust account audits.
