By Charlene Gatt
A FOOTSCRAY conveyancer who scammed her clients out of more than $2.2 million has been stripped of her credentials and had her Barkly St business shut down.
Helen Kevin, also known as Helen Nguyen, faces jail if she breaches a Supreme Court order instructing her not to engage in conveyancing work or handle trust money.
Consumer Affairs Victoria Director Claire Noone said the agency took action after it had serious concerns about Ms Kevin’s business practices.
Consumer Affairs has assisted Ms Kevin’s clients make claims against the Victorian Property Fund to ensure their property settlement transactions would take place as planned, despite Ms Kevin being unable to account for their funds.
To date, the VPF had paid out around $2.2 million to 13 of Ms Kevin’s clients, a number of whom were of Chinese and Vietnamese background and spoke little English.
More claims are currently being assessed.
“Consumer Affairs Victoria moved swiftly to protect Ms Kevin’s clients by appointing a statutory manager in April and taking court action to prevent her from continuing to trade,” Dr Noone said.
“Our investigation found Ms Kevin failed to maintain any permanent accounting records as required under the Conveyancers Act, continued to act as a conveyancer even though her licence was suspended, and has failed to account for around $2.2 million of trust moneys.”
Dr Noone said the action against Ms Kevin serves as a warning against other conveyancers doing the wrong thing.
“Buying a home is the most important purchase a consumer is ever likely to make. Conveyancers need to be licensed because of the position of trust they hold; those who break that trust will feel the full force of the law,” she said.
The Honourable Justice Kaye said Ms Kevin’s offending was ‘egregious’, and noted that her victims were “probably people who just made their way to this country and are doing their best to make their way in it”.
To find a licensed conveyancer, visit the Business Licensing Authority website, bla.vic.gov.au
