South coast real estate agent Adele Woods banned and ordered to pay back $75,000 after admitting to theft

A real estate agent has been banned and ordered to pay back a hefty sum after it was reported she had been stealing from clients for close to three years.

A south coast real estate agent has been banned after stealing from clients over a three-year period. Picture: Loren Toncini

A south coast real estate agent who pleaded guilty to stealing from clients has been ordered to pay $75,000 in compensation to those she fleeced.

Milton woman Adele Woods, 50, was also banned from working in the real estate industry, placed on a three-year good behaviour bond and ordered to complete 300 hours of community service, the NSW Department of Customer Service reported.

It was revealed Ms Woods transferred money from her real estate company’s trust account to her personal bank accounts on 50 separate occasions between 2016 and 2019.

Ms Woods was a senior property manager at Tucker’s Real Estate in Mollymook at the time.

The defendant was also reported to have made false entries in Tucker Real Estate’s books in an attempt to conceal her illegal activity.

The prosecution by NSW Police resulted from an investigation into a complaint about Ms Woods which the licensee of Tucker Real Estate made to NSW Fair Trading.

NSW Fair Trading executive director of investigations and enforcement Valerie Griswold said the defendant’s actions caused significant pain and suffering.

The Mollymook home rental market has been in high demand in recent years.

“The defendant betrayed the trust of her clients by stealing from them,” Ms Griswold said.

“While Tuckers Real Estate was not involved in the fraud, the company suffered significant losses in the period after it was uncovered.

“As a consequence, the company was forced to rebrand to continue operating.”

Ms Woods was sentenced at Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on September 17. She has the right to appeal.