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A discrepancy of over $180,000 was discovered after several buyers’ home deposits failed to be paid to the sellers.
Former agent Justin Scavo of Mill Park was sentenced to four months in prison and a two-year Community Corrections Order in the County Court on 5 August 2024, after an investigation from Consumer Affairs uncovered multiple instances of trust account abuse.
Scavo pleaded guilty to 12 offences, including 11 charges of causing $185,320 in trust account deficiencies, as well as one charge of fraudulently converting that same amount for his own personal use.
The trust account abuse occurred when Scavo was the officer in effective control of Scavo Ettia Pty Ltd, which traded as Revolve Real Estate in South Morang in the city’s north-east. Both licences of Scavo and the company have subsequently been cancelled, and the company is now deregistered.
In addition to his jail sentence, Scavo must also pay $101,601 in compensation to the Victorian Property Fund (VPF) to cover reimbursements the fund made to his clients. The body reported that over $120,000 in claims against Scavo’s company have been paid out from the VPF to date.
This is the end of a long-running case against Scavo, which began in 2019 when the Consumer Affairs department received several complaints from people who had bought properties through Revolve Real Estate, but whose deposit money had not been paid following the sale.
The body then froze two of the company’s accounts in October 2019 and appointed a statutory manager to wind up the business.
Consumer Affairs Victoria director Nicole Rich said the outcome of the action taken against Scavo should “serve as a timely reminder that trust fund misuse will not be tolerated and there are serious penalties for agents who break the law”.
“We will continue to pursue agents and agencies who put their clients’ money at risk and hold them accountable,” she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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