Amit Miglani: Former MIG Real Estate director pleads guilty to $98k fraud

Almost $100,000 of clients’ cash was splashed on luxury cars and private school fees by a shyster agent who has since turned to spirituality and vegetarianism, a court has heard.

MIG Real Estate agent Amit Miglani faces jail time after pleading guilty to fraudulently using almost $100,000 of his clients’ cash.

Dodgy real estate agent Amit Miglani blew thousands on luxury cars and his children’s private school fees in an almost $100,000 fraud involving client funds, a court has heard.

Mr Miglani, the former officer in control of his now defunct MIG Real Estate business, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to one charge of causing deficiencies in his agency’s trust account and one charge of fraudulently converting the money to his own use between 2017 and 2018.

The rolled up charges included 22 counts of withdrawing clients’ cash held in his agency’s trust accounts totalling $55,500.

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Mr Miglani is believed to have squandered the money on luxury BMW and Audi cars.

The other charge included eight counts of squandering a total of $42,648 of his clients’ money on payments for luxury cars to BMW, Zagame Automotive and Audi, and to settle his children’s Xavier College school fees.

Consumer Affairs Victoria prosecutor James Baker told the court the total amount wrapped up in the scheme was $98,148.

He pushed Magistrate Tara Hartnett to convict Mr Miglani and sentence him to a community corrections order.

But Mr Miglani’s lawyer, Dr Theo Alexander, urged the magistrate to consider the long term ramifications of a conviction on his clients’ future work prospects.

He said his client felt compelled to steal the money at the time because his marriage was on the rocks as a result of his long work hours and bills were piling up.

“The essence of this is a man … who comes from fairly humble beginnings to Australia with $1500 in his pocket in 2007, builds up a successful real estate business, he seems to be talented in business.

“As all migrants try and do, he tried to make the best life for himself he could, and he did, but 10 years later things started to unravel.

He also paid off his children’s Xavier College school fees. Picture: Facebook

“By February 2020, the business has collapsed, his lost his (real estate) licence, he’s divorced, he was not able to work … his life has completely dissolved in the form that it had.”

Dr Alexander told the court his client had since turned over a new leaf, become vegetarian and turned to spirituality.

He’d also suffered loss of face in the local Indian community due to prior media reports on his court proceedings.

“He tried to make a go of his life and he was doing well, but it came apart and he couldn’t cope,” Dr Alexander said.

“He doesn’t really tell me why he took the money from the trust money, he could have borrowed it, but the frame of mind he was in, he just did it.”

But Mr Baker said Mr Miglani’s clients suffered stress and financial hardship as a result of the offending.

While they had been repaid through the Victorian Property Fund, he said the offending was calculated and intentional.

The fact Mr Miglani attempted to open new business trust accounts with other banks after his original accounts were frozen following a CAV investigation was also an aggravating factor.

Mr Miglani is due back at court on August 4 for sentencing.

“The fact that Mr Miglani is unable to provide instructions as to why he withdrew the money demonstrates in my submission a lack of insight … or to demonstrate real remorse.”

Mr Miglani, 44, originally faced 118 charges amounting to more than $150,000 of misused funds.

Real estate agency trust accounts hold money gained from property transactions, including rental payments owed to landlords and homebuyers’ house deposits.

He faces a maximum of 10 years’ jail on charge two and up to two years’ jail for charge one, as well as fines of up to 500 penalty units.

MIG Real Estate operated four agencies across Melbourne in Footscray, Somerton, Derrimut and the CBD until the business was closed in 2018.

Ms Hartnett adjourned the matter for sentencing on August 4.

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