A highly respected Molong community member was given a custodial sentence when she appeared in Orange Local Court on Monday for committing fraud through her former real estate business.
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Kim Marie Ramsey, 47, from south of Molong, was the director and licencee of First National Molong when she fraudulently withdrew rental money and house deposits from a trust account to pay bills for the agency and the Freemason's Hotel, which she also managed accounts for.
Department of Fair Trading prosecutor Dimitrios Kapeleris said the misappropriated funds amounted to $142,742.50, and there was still $23,000 outstanding and the offence crossed the custodial threshold.
"These were not isolated one-off incidents," Mr Kapeleris said.
"Ms Ramsey was using trust monies as if they were her own.
She was highly regarded before, it's a big fall from grace.
- Solicitor John Peluso
"There's a need for general deterrence for a matter of this kind and for people like Ms Ramsey working in the real estate industry."
Solicitor John Peluso said Ramsey was well respected in the Molong community as a business owner and due to her extensive volunteer work, and she also pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
"She was highly regarded before, it's a big fall from grace," he said.
"She finds it very difficult to face the people that she was formerly respected by."
To back up those claims he handed up several references, including one from Cabonne Shire mayor Kevin Beatty, and several business and community representatives.
"The only outstanding money is $23,000 that's being paid off at $100 a week," Mr Peluso said.
"It was $33,000 at one stage."
When you are in trust of the money it's very easy to give into temptation.
- Magistrate Susan McGowan
He said at the time of the offending both the real estate and hotel were in under financial stress due to the drought in 2018 and 2019.
He said although she transferred money out of the trust she paid it back when the hotel had the funds to move back across.
Magistrate Susan McGowan said the business was in "dire straits" and the fraud was committed so she could "hold on for some time".
"The defendant saw herself as some sort of saviour," Ms McGowan said of Ramsey's attitude of saving her businesses to help the Molong community.
"The fact that it's a position of trust is not an aggravating factor but that's reflected in the [maximum] penalty of 10 years in jail.
"When you are in trust of the money it's very easy to give into temptation."
According to information presented to the court, Ramsey fraudulently converted $96,000 from people's house deposits that was held in trust pending the sale of the properties.
It included $37,000 from a house deposit on March 29, 2019, $10,500 from another deposit on April 24, 2019, and another $5000 from that deposit on May 7, 2019, and the same amount again the next day.
Between May 9 and 16, 2019, she took out another $38,500 from another property deposit.
According to the Department of Fair Trading there was also a $46,774.50 deficiency in the trust account between January 1, 2017, and May 28, 2019. That money was rental money owed to landlords.
At times the trust only had $16.74 in it when there should have been thousands of dollars.
On May 9, 2019, the account had $60.74 in it before $38,860.74 was deposited. However, a week later on May 16 there was only $20.86 left in the account.
Representatives from the Department of Fair Trading met with and interviewed Ramsey on May 29, 2019, after receiving a consumer complaint.
At the time of the interview, Ramsey said there was still $46,000 still outstanding to landlords.
She said she used the money to pay bills such as power, phone and advertising to keep the hotel on its feet and she sold a business in March that year so she could recoup some funds and paid $40,000 back into the trust account.
"She didn't try to hide anything or blame anyone else," Ms McGowan said in court.
However, she said general deterrence was also a leading consideration and agreed with Mr Kapeleris that the custodial threshold was breached.
Ms McGowan convicted Ramsey and gave her a 30-month community-based custodial sentence by way of an Intensive Correction Order from June 20, 2022, to December 19, 2024.
Ramsey will be supervised by a community corrections officer and have to participate in treatment or intervention programs, and accept referral for mental health treatment as part of the order.
She will also have to complete 120 hours of community service.
Ramsey was also ordered to repay the remaining $23,627.62 in compensation to the fraud unit and $500 to the Department of Fair Trading for prosecution costs.
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