A NSW real estate agent has avoided jail after she pocketed more than $1.4 million from strata trust accounts for use on her personal expenses.
Kylee Marie Lane moved the money from the Prestige Strata accounts in Parramatta to her own account. She then spent the money on home improvements, living expenses, and medical bills.
Lane was the licensee in charge of Prestige Strata Management from 2013 to 2019.
The offences took place between October 2017 and November 2018.
A strata title allows the ownership of part of a property, like a home within a housing complex or an apartment inside a complex.
Residents pay their strata quarterly.
It’s the strata manager’s job to maintain the shared spaces within the property using those funds.
According to Natasha Mann, the Commissioner of NSW Fair Trading, licensees governed by the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 are required to keep clients’ funds in a trust account. These funds should only be used for the benefit of the specific client.
Mann also emphasized that penalties specified in the Act are in place to highlight the severity of such actions and the negative repercussions they have on both the local community and the real estate industry. If any violations are identified, NSW Fair Trading will not hesitate to pursue legal action and ensure that those responsible are held answerable.
Lane pleaded guilty to 29 offences of being an accessory to the fraudulent conversion of trust money by misappropriating 31 bank transfers totalling $1.402 million.
She was sentenced to a two-year and 10-month intensive corrections order as well as 450 hours of community service.
She also surrendered her real estate and strata managing agent license.
Lane was ordered to pay $100,000 to the NSW Fair Trading Property Services Compensation Fund and cover $30,000 in legal costs,
The fund assists people who are out of pocket because an agent has failed to account for money held in trust.
