The director of a Deer Park real estate agency has been sentenced to jail for misusing trust account money.
Sole director of Boris Real Estate, Suzanne Zvizdalo, was convicted of 13 charges last week relating to fraudulently handling trust account money and failing to keep trust account records.
Ms Zvizdalo, 32, was sentenced to three months in prison, wholly suspended for 12 months.
She has been ordered to pay more than $46,000 in compensation and court costs of $1110 and must also perform 150 hours of community services as part of an 18-month community corrections order. Boris Real Estate, a formerly licensed boutique agency was also convicted and fined $10,000.
Consumer Affairs Victoria director Claire Noone said she was pleased that the courts were taking these matters seriously and imposing appropriate penalties.
“This sends a message to the industry that there are strong consequences for estate agents who mismanage trust funds,” said Dr Noone.
“We want to give home owners and buyers the confidence to know that the agents they are dealing with are following the rules and not mismanaging their money.”
Consumer Affairs Victoria suspended Ms Zvizdalo and her business’s licence in 2013 after allegations from landlords that they had not been paid rental arrears, among other offences.
The affected landlords were told by Consumer Affairs to find a new property manager, while affected tenants ceased rental payments to Boris Real Estate and made other arrangements with their landlords.
Dr Noone said while most real estate agents did the right thing, Consumer Affairs was cracking down on those who did not. It was boosting its compliance and monitoring program during the peak autumn sales period, with an increased focus on compliance with trust account obligations and inspections of office records.
Last year, former Craigieburn estate agent Konstantinos Balasis was sentenced to a minimum six months’ jail for trust account offences including deficiencies of more than $430,000, while former real estate agent representative Kian Meng ‘Dennis’ Ong received a suspended jail term for siphoning more than $52,000 in trust account money.
