A western suburbs estate agency and its director have been fined and reprimanded for misusing more than $30,000 in trust account funds.
Gaurav Kapoor, 42, of Point Cook, made 17 withdrawals totalling $30,850 from the trust account of his agency, Om Shri Pty Ltd (ACN 164 860 682), between March and April 2022.
Kapoor was the Officer in Effective Control of Om Shri at the time of the conduct.
He has since repaid the money and there have been no claims made to the Victorian Property Fund.
The matter was settled by mutually agreed consent orders in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in June this year.
As part of the orders, the Tribunal:
- Suspended the agency from applying for a renewal or reinstatement of an estate agent licence until 4 December 2024.
- Prohibited Kapoor from operating a sales trust account until the same date.
- Ordered Kapoor and Om Shri to each pay a $1000 penalty.
Kapoor must also complete one unit of study on operating a trust account.
We first became aware of the withdrawals after an external auditor discovered the deficiencies.
Consumer Affairs Victoria Director Nicole Rich said while no consumers suffered financial loss in this instance, it was critical that consumers can have confidence when dealing with their estate agent.
Rich said the regulator would continue to act when trust account problems are identified.