A former Malaga real estate agent has copped a $2,500 fine and his company fined $4,000, following a spate of unauthorised withdrawals from a trust account.
Consumer Protection has slapped a total of $6,500 in fines on former real estate agent Mohammad Samir Merzaie and the Malaga business he operated under, Challenge Real Estate.
Mr Merzaie made multiple unauthorised withdrawals from a trust account linked to Challenger Real Estate, which Joondalup Magistrate Michelle Harries said put his clients’ money at risk.
The Afghanistan-born former real estate agent was a director and the sole signatory of Swift SM Pty Ltd, trading as Challenge Real Estate, between December 2019 and April 2020.
Consumer Protection found that Mr Merzaie made at least six unauthorised withdrawals from the trust account during this time.
Mr Merzaie was fined $2,500 in Joondalup Magistrates Court on January 6, while Challenge Real Estate was fined $4,000, for breaching the real estate Real Estate and Business Agents Act.
Mr Merzaie was a licensed real estate agent at the time of the offences, but his agency ceased to operate in September 2020.
In handing down the judgment, Magistrate Harries described unauthorised withdrawals as a breach of trust.
She acknowledged, while there was no financial losses caused by Mr Merzaie’s actions, they had the potential to have a significant impact.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection Trish Blake said such illegal actions by an agent put the money of home buyers and sellers at serious risk.
“Providing safeguards and protections are the main reasons for having laws that strictly control the transfer and use of funds belonging to people involved in a real estate transaction,” she said.
“For a licensed real estate agent or their staff to use trust account funds for other purposes is not only illegal, but a betrayal that undermines the integrity of the system and confidence in the industry.
“That’s why there are laws that control the handling of funds during a real estate sales process and all agents need to strictly adhere to those laws, without exception, otherwise face the consequences.”
ASIC shows Farahnaz Noori as the current shareholder of Swift SM Pty Ltd and there is a strike-off action in progress for the entity.