Paul Pfeiffer of Melbourne Deluxe Property pleads guilty to trust account charges ahead of trial
A MELBOURNE real estate agent alleged to have misappropriated about $250,000 of clients’ money has pleaded guilty to all charges.
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A MELBOURNE real estate agent alleged to have misappropriated about $250,000 of clients’ money has pleaded guilty to all charges.
Paul Pfeiffer, sole director of Melbourne Deluxe Property, will stand trial in the County Court in October over nine charges brought against him and his agency by the consumer watchdog.
Consumer Affairs Victoria alleges Mr Pfeiffer breached the Estate Agents Act 1980 by moving money from trust accounts and lying about the balance.
Magistrate Simon Zebrowski refused a summary jurisdiction application from Mr Pfeiffer’s defence for the case to be heard in the Magistrates’ Court.
RELATED: MELBOURNE DELUXE REAL ESTATE CHARGED OVER ALLEGED MISUSE OF TRUST MONEY
“Every day thousands of people sell their houses and businesses and they go through these agents. It’s an enormous breach of trust when an agent does not conduct themselves in a way he or she should,” he said
Mr Zebrowski said as a result of Mr Pfeiffer’s conduct, “the public purse has had to pay out $70,000 to get a person back in the position they were in prior to his breach of trust.”
The court heard this amount was outstanding from Mr Pfeiffer and had been paid through a single claim to the Victorian Property Fund.
“This Magistrate thinks that people in the position they are in ought to have their matters heard in a higher court,” Mr Zebrowski said.
“Real estate agents, they have a trust account and they need to be held to account, in my view.”
The charges relate to transactions made in April and May of last year, associated with the sales of two properties in Melbourne’s east.
In the charge relating to the largest sum, CAV alleges Mr Pfeiffer and his agency, Melbourne Deluxe Real Estate Pty Ltd, fraudulently converted $103,000 to its own use, and later lied by stating the money was there.
Paul Stefanovic, for the director of CAV, told the court Mr Pfeiffer cited “a series of stressful and life changing events,” including the breakdown of his marriage and loss of his driver’s license, had impacted his ability to run his business when issued with a show cause notice by the watchdog earlier this year.
Zyg Zayler, for Mr Pfeiffer, said it was a case of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” as Mr Pfeiffer took the money to pay other clients.
Mr Pfeiffer will stand trial in the County Court on October 4.