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Real estate agent convicted of tax fraud has licence cancelled by High Court

Property
Real estate agent convicted of tax fraud has licence cancelled by High Court

The High Court has overturned a Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal decision and cancelled the saleperson's licence of an agent convicted of tax fraud.

The decision arose after a a real estate agent (both the agent and the company she worked for have permanent name suppression) was convicted of abetting a company to apply PAYE deductions for a purpose other than payment to Inland Revenue, plus five charges of abetting the same company to fail to file GST returns.

According to the High Court Judgment, the offending occurred between October 2013 and October 2015 and involved $233,866 in unpaid tax.

The Judgment said that over the same period the agent spent approximately $278,000 on online gambling.

In August 2016 she was sentenced to five months community detention and 200 hours community work and ordered to pay reparations of $233,866.

In August 2016 the agent applied to the Real Estate Agents Authority (the Authority) to renew her saleperson's licence, but that was declined on the basis that she was not a fit and proper person to hold a licence.

The agent then applied to the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal (the Tribunal) for a review of that decision.

The Tribunal decided in the agent's favour and reinstated her salesperson's licence, but the Authority then appealed that decision to the High Court.

In a decision released yesterday (28 November) the High Court sided with the Authority, overturned the Tribunal's decision and reinstated the Authority's decision to cancel the agent's licence.

The Judgment also noted that the Authority would normally be entitled to costs, but if no agreement on this could be reached with the other parties, the Authority should apply to the High Court for an order on costs.

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32 Comments

name suppression - typical NZ wet lettuce leaf justice.

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Quite right! What happened to the Good Ol' Days when the convicted were chained to a post on the village green with their crimes and names on a placard around their necks....

https://tinyurl.com/y8d5to4k

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Oh how'd I'd love to throw rotten eggs at real estate agents.

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Agreed, name & shame I say

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maybe we could start with you Yvil.

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OK I admit it, my real name is John Wheeler and I'm a Real Estate dealer

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We no longer have open and shut cases. Absolutely ludicrous expensive waste of the court’s time and taxpayers’ money. OK it ended the right way but what a ridiculous carry on. Why can’t offenders like this not just swallow the medicine they have earned.

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So...there's clearly not a character requirement to be an RE agent, from the actions of the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal.

Not that this is news to many, in fairness.

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Have to say, I agree with the thrust of the comments above.

I feel extremely disappointed with the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal - shame on it.

This sort of thing gets industry self-regulation a very bad reputation. And that's a great pity.

Nobody should think of real estate agency as being a "profession". It's no more than an industry of salespeople - and seems to attract a disproportionately high number of persons with serious character defects.

TTP

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Don't be so hard on yourself TTP. But it just goes to show how much the RE industry needs to be strongly monitored and regulated.

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Hi CJ099,

You make an (implicit) allegation about me (TTP) being a real estate agent when you can't verify it - and when it's BS anyway.

Clearly, you do nothing for your personal credibility.

TTP

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Well can you clarify what your profession is? Since most Commenters on this site for very much agree that you are an RE judging by your behaviour.

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CJ, you've also asked me what my profession is. You have done this so you can rubbish other peoples occupation. I find that not nice. I don't ask you what you do. Why don't you focus on your own business instead of meddling into other people's affairs

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Actually I haven't rubbished people's profession at all apart from pointing out when they have a motivation to keep property prices inflated, such as RE"s and related property industries. Which you also mentioned that your part of the property industry aren't you Yivl.

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Well Real Estate agents don't have a motivation to keep prices high, they have a motivation to get a sale done, that's generally the only way they make a commisssion. So based on your own logic, TTP is not really a Real Estate agent.

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Actually they do have to keep prices high otherwise they can be negotiated down on their sales commission rates which is already happening now that prices are falling.

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Double post

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Double nonsense.

If other people here make the same invalid assumption as you that I'm a real estate agent, then that does nothing for the credibility of you or them......

But it does raise the likelihood of other comments you make here being equally invalid.

TTP

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Wriggle, wriggle TTP. See obviously you don't have a ligitamate profession (Other than being an RE), otherwise you would be able to rationally tell us wouldn't you. :)

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CJ, I don't see you telling everyone what you do (not that I would care)

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I find the rubbishing of other people's profession highly objectionable. I actually find it akin to bullying. At least they are doing something to earn a buck. There are good and bad people in all professions. How presumptuous to assume one's occupation is superior to someone else's. Can we not keep our comments to issues and leave the personal attacks out

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Not to worry, Yvil,

Despite he/she hanging around here for quite a while now, CJ099 hasn't yet cottoned on to the fact that this blog was set up so that contributors could remain anonymous - and have their privacy safeguarded.

And that's a good thing, given that there are dark and dubious individuals (such as CJ099) in our midst.

TTP

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I see that both You and Yvil are deeply ashamed of working in such a dubious industry. Not to worry my industry will regulate you soon. :)

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You have a lovely evening too CJ

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Hi CJ099,

You write, "Not to worry my industry will regulate you soon."

Sorry - but industries do NOT regulate. The regulator is Government - local or central.

That you should be so naive! (Sigh.)

TTP

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Interesting.

So the Master Builders Association is actually run by government?
The Plumbers association, too?

What about the Amercian Bar Association?
Another front for the pesky respective government?

Silly CJ for thinking that they regulate the industry.

I'm so glad we have you to clear these things up for us, TTP.

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Hi nymad,

Those organisations are SELF-REGULATORY.

They are NOT regulatory.

Only government has the power to regulate!!

TTP

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LOL, I'm actually referring to technology companies working with government bodies such as NZ Justice, who are introducing more regulations to prevent corruption in property transactions, that also includes Real Estate Agents. Go check out their website.

Won't be long until RE's are replaced by phone apps, they certainly need to be replaced by technology judging by the levels of corruption.

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This is the most disappointing thread of comments that I have seen on this site.
More than happy to see any opinions and viewpoints on issues, but personal attacks or innuendo have no place.
The threads above undermine the credibility of this site and I question as to why interest.co.nz allow this.

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Well said

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Tell you what printer8 all of the above would be nice cousins ofTrump utterances,don’t suppose he has anything to do with real estate by chance?

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??

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