NSW real estate agents prosecuted for trust fund or rental bond fraud

Some used their client’s money on cars and others on gambling. Thirteen real estate agents have been convicted of misusing trust fund accounts or engaging in rental bond fraud. See the list

A crackdown on real estate agents misusing trust fund money or engaging in rental bond fraud has resulted in 13 convictions in the past year with several agents sent to prison.

Under the Property, Stock & Business Agents Act 2002, real estate licensees must hold clients’ funds such as rent and sales deposits in a trust account.

It is an offence for agents to access these funds to pay for personal expenses such as holidays, gambling or to purchase a luxury car.

Among the agents prosecuted for trust fund fraud included Brett Mitten, Nicolette Van Wijngaarden, Hakan Kutup and Elouise Paul with Toni Gereige pleading guilty to two charges of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception after providing falsified claims to the Rental Bond Board.

Gereige was convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Mr Mitten, a former Hunter Valley real estate director, was sentenced to two years imprisonment, to be served in the community, for fraudulently misusing $163,550 from his real estate company’s trust account.

Former Wollongong real estate agent Hakan Kutup.

The director of Kazmot Pty Limited which traded as Raine & Horne Belmont, in Belmont North, had acted as an agent in the sale of three residential properties in April 2018, receiving deposits totalling $163,550 into its trust account on behalf of vendors.

When the company entered administration in June 2018, the trust account held only $24,723.

Parramatta Local Court convicted Mr Mitten of three offences, and ordered him to serve the two year sentence by way of an intensive corrections order, to carry out 350 hours of community service and to pay back $114,000 to the NSW Property Services Compensation Fund.

Mr Mitten has 28 days to lodge an appeal.

Nicolette Van Wijngaarden was known within the industry as the real estate agent to the stars, counting Chris Hemsworth, Paul Hogan, Collette Dinnigan as clients.

The founder of real estate agency Unique Estates was also known for her life of luxury, taking holidays to exotic locations, boat trips and days out to the races.

At the same time, Van Wijngaarden was pilfering millions of dollars from the company’s trust account to keep her business afloat.

On November 2019, the then 45-year-old was sentenced to three years and six months in prison with a non-parole period of one year and nine months for the misappropriation of $3.7m from the trust account of Unique Estates Australia Pty Ltd.

Real estate agent to the stars Nicolette Van Wijngaarden. Picture: AAP/Dean Lewins

In November last year, former Belle Property Double Bay real estate agent Elouise Paul was convicted of four offences of fraud in relation to misappropriating trust moneys from her employer’s trust account on 42 occasions to the value of $15,746.

Paul obtained the money by changing bank account details in her employer’s trust account system, so that payments intended for local council rates were in fact paid to bank accounts controlled by her.

She was sentenced to a one year community corrections order.

A joint investigation with Wollongong police ended in the prosecution of real estate agent Hakan Kutup who last year pleaded guilty to the misappropriation of trust moneys to the value of $484k and to making false documents to obtain an advantage.

Kutup was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment with non-parole period of 13 months in Wollongong Local Court after he was convicted of 13 counts of fraud.

Real estate agent Toni Gereige pleaded guilty to two charges of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception to the value of $90,666 after providing falsified claims to the Rental Bond Board, resulting in the refund of bonds to several bank accounts he controlled.

Gereige was convicted and sentenced to 15 months imprisonment to be served as an Intensive Corrections Order with 120 hours community service.

Among the conditions included that he abstain from gambling.

Better Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson said the number of real estate agents doing the wrong thing was small, but their actions had “enormous” consequences for victims.

“What I have seen with a number of recent cases of trust account fraud are some of the worst examples of deception, manipulation and gross breaches of consumers’ trust,” he said.

“I am putting real estate agents on notice that if you attempt to fleece consumers you will be caught, prosecuted and potentially jailed.”

Mr Anderson said he had instructed Fair Trading to continue its crackdown on both trust fund and rental bond fraud.