Star cricketer Tom Triffitt loses career in Hobart real estate after faking buyers and contracts
A former star Tasmanian cricketer who began a new career in real estate after a disastrous and public downward spiral has now been struck off for fraudulent conduct.
A professional Tasmanian cricketer who began a new career in real estate after a disastrous downward spiral has now been struck off for cooking up fictitious buyers and fraudulent contracts.
Thomas Ian Triffitt, now 35, had an impressive career on the pitch during the 2010s – playing for Tasmania, Western Australia, the Melbourne Stars, the Hobart Hurricanes and the Perth Scorchers.
The wicketkeeper would play as a replacement for Tim Paine when he was injured or away playing with the Australian national team.
The Mercury previously reported that Triffitt lost his contract with Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers a decade ago amid a “downward spiral of events” in which he was arrested and charged with two counts of stealing and one count of wilful damage during the middle of a Future League match.
Triffitt at the time explained he had developed alcohol abuse problems and mental health issues.
The charges were ultimately dropped, and the Mercury later reported that Triffitt had started a new career in Hobart’s real estate market, picking up a job with Frank Knight in 2017 to transition careers while he was still playing.
However, Triffitt’s reinvention has been dealt a serious blow – with the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal now striking him off for at least five years.
In its newly-published decision, the tribunal has found him guilty of professional misconduct over the fraudulent conduct, which he had admitted to.
It also cancelled his property agent licence and ordered he pay $10,000 to the Property Agent Board as well as up to $10,000 of its legal fees.
Triffitt will be prohibited from practising in the field for five years, backdated to 2021.
According to the decision, two directors of Frank Knight lodged a complaint against Triffitt early that year, after Triffitt left the agency in 2020.
The pair said Triffitt had engaged in the use of fictitious purchasers, created fraudulent contacts on three occasions for properties in Hobart and Mt Nelson, and engaged in misleading conduct relating to these.
The Property Agent Board imposed an interim suspension on Triffitt at this time.
On one occasion, he falsely claimed that a $168,000 deposit had been made on a Collins Street property.
“There is no doubt in our view that the conduct engaged in by Mr Triffitt was exceedingly foolish and involved a serious breach of the trust placed in him by the impacted vendor clients who he misled in a most egregious manner,” the tribunal said.
“This would have been serious enough in itself if he had engaged in the conduct just once. Rather, he engaged in the same pattern of conduct three times over a period spanning some 15 months.”
The tribunal noted Triffitt was suffering from “a high level of work stress and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and problematic alcohol use” – and that he also did not benefit financially from his fraudulent conduct.
It said his conduct was instead intended to promote the appearance of him “performing” to his clients, employer and peers.
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Originally published as Star cricketer Tom Triffitt loses career in Hobart real estate after faking buyers and contracts
