Real estate agent flees the country after stealing from clients
A real estate agent from Melbourne has allegedly fled the country after reportedly taking off with hundreds of thousands of dollars she stole from clients and employees.
According to 9News, Debra Lawry, who traded as Debra Watchman with Ray White Romsey, has been accused of stealing money from her clients and staff by emptying the company's trust accounts and telling her colleagues she was in hospital while actually flying to Europe at the end of last month.
One of Lawry's alleged victims is primary school teacher Shay Preston, who had just sold her family home with the estate agency.
While she got the deposit back from Ray White, the theft cost the single mum thousands of dollars in extra expenses in the meantime.
"It was very hard, very anxious, very stressful," Preston told 9News. "It's been a very stressful month."
While clients are among those who have been stolen from, employees have also been impacted and are allegedly owed tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid super, leave entitlements and commission, including from Ms Preston's sale.
"I felt horrible, they have done, they were doing a job for us and regardless of who they were working under, they did a job," Preston said.
Staff at the agency claim they discovered their boss had been trying to book long-term accommodation in Italy after they found her office cleared out.
"I hope she steps one toe out of wherever she is and just they get her, because that's a lot of people that she's hurt," Preston said.
In the lead-up to Lawry's disappearance, Consumer Affairs Victoria publicly announced it was looking to suspend or cancel her estate licences, alleging she had deliberately failed to comply with auditing obligations over the last four years.
Image credits: Ray White