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Police charge alleged real estate fraudster

By Nick Bendel
11 February 2015 | 5 minute read

A Melbourne man will appear in court tomorrow after being charged with obtaining financial advantage by deception.

The Victoria Police Fraud and Extortion Squad said the charges follow “a series of alleged fraud incidents in the mortgage broking and real estate industries”.

“The 45 year-old Beaumaris man has been charged with numerous counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception,” the police said.

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“It relates to a series of incidents between December 2010 and August 2013. He has been bailed by police and will appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 12 February 2015.”

The man is unable to be named for legal reasons. Real Estate Business approached the man for comment but he hadn’t replied by publication deadline.

The person in question has previously been identified as a fraudulent rent roll salesman, who asks agents to pay in advance for rent rolls that he then fails to deliver.

Consumer Affairs Victoria said one instance involved an agent paying more than $100,000 for a rent roll that was never delivered.

In 2013, the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court banned the man from being a company director for 15 years.

The latest charges came to the attention of Real Estate Business yesterday after the police contacted its sister publication, The Adviser.

The police decided to notify The Adviser about the charges following a story it published yesterday about a mortgage trail book merchant.

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