HANK SCHOUTEN
A Wellington real estate agent has had his licence suspended for three months for his handling of a deposit on a Lower Hutt commercial property.
Shane Ross received a $6164 property lease deposit into his personal bank account by mistake then failed to transfer the full amount into his agency's trust account as he should have, says the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal.
Mr Ross pleaded guilty to wilfully contravening Real Estate Act rules.
The tribunal said the deposit was paid into Mr Ross' account two days after he had finished working for Pelorus Real Estate.
He emailed Malcolm Morris, his former boss at Pelorus, two days later saying that as his account was overdrawn, some of the deposit money had been "sucked up" and he deposited only $3789 in the Pelorus Trust account.
The $2383 he retained was the commission he believed he would have earned on the lease deal.
When interviewed by an investigator Mr Ross confirmed his account was only overdrawn by about $900 when the deposit was paid in and he could have paid more to Pelorus than he did.
Mr Morris told the tribunal that he was not planning to pay Mr Ross any share of the commission because Mr Ross owed the company about $20,000 for advances against future commissions.
The tribunal said Mr Ross must have known money paid into his account by mistake could not properly belong to him.
Its penalty included a deterrent element to emphasise the need for strict compliance with rules relating to the money received.
"Members of the public pay large amounts of money to real estate agents so that there must be absolute trust and integrity from the real estate industry."
The tribunal suspended Mr Ross for three months and ordered him to pay $2383 to Mr Morris and $1000 costs.
Commenting on the decision, Mr Morris said he was "flabbergasted with what he [Mr Ross] did".
Mr Ross, who has left the agency he joined after leaving Pelorus, would not comment.
- ? Fairfax NZ News
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/6670097/Realtor-suspended-for-clipping-deposit
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