A sentence of three years imprisonment suspended after six months actual custody for dishonest conversion of approximately $219,000 from a real estate trust account over two years, by a first offender aged 67 who did not cooperate with investigators and pleaded guilty late, is within the range of appropriate sentences under s 206(2)(a) of the Property Occupations Act 2014 (Qld). Loss of a professional licence obtained solely for the venture that became the subject of offending is only a slight mitigating factor. Financial losses from investing in the failing business are not extra-curial punishment.
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