A Canberra real estate agent who stole a couple's $22,000 deposit to pay off his own family's home loan has been convicted and fined $10,000.
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Mark Blinksell, the sole director of Canberra-based company Grapevine Real Estate, took the couple's $22,000 cheque as the deposit on a property in January 2013, according to an ACT Government statement.
Blinksell was supposed to hold the money in trust until the sale was completed. Instead, he paid the cheque into a business transaction account, before transferring $11,000 into an account for his family's home loan.
He later siphoned off an extra $5000 into his family's home loan account, then spent the remaining $6000 on "incidentals".
Details of the crime were made public in a statement released by the Justice and Community Safety Directorate on Wednesday.
The statement comes a week after Blinksell was sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court to six months imprisonment, which was fully suspended. He was put on a three-year good behaviour order and has had his real estate and business licences cancelled. He and his company were fined $5000 each.
Blinksell will be barred from holding a real estate or business licence for five years.
In his personal biography on real estate website AllHomes, Blinksell is described as a "strong negotiator, always fair in ensuring an 'everyone wins' approach in any of his dealings". He is also described as having 30 years' experience in the real estate, building, and construction sectors.
Commissioner for Fair Trading Brett Phillips said the prosecution showed the ACT government took such matters seriously.
"Real estate agents regularly handle large sums of money for their clients, and it is vital that they understand the gravity of such a responsibility," Mr Phillips said.
The government statement also noted that Blinksell had taken steps to repay the money, as well as costs, and interest, to the couple.