Two former LJ Hooker agents charged

LJ Hooker real estate agents under investigation over missing client money, six branches shut down

Judy Nguyen (Truc Thanh Le Nguyen) and Joseph Ngo (Tri Duc Ngo) have been charged for alleged breaches of the Estate Agents Act.

Exclusive by the National Reporting Team's Josie Taylor and Sam Clark

Real estate giant LJ Hooker says it is pleased two of its former agents will face court for allegedly misappropriating more than $2 million of customers' money.

Consumer Affairs Victoria has laid hundreds of charges against two former LJ Hooker real estate agents over conduct at six franchises in Melbourne's south east.

The ABC exclusively revealed last year that six LJ Hooker branches run by Truc Thanh Le Nguyen (known as Judy Nguyen) and her husband Tri Duc Ngo (known as Joseph Ngo) were shut down by head office.

More than 100 customers claimed their money kept in trust by the real estate agents had disappeared.

Today, Consumer Affairs Victoria announced that it had charged Judy Nguyen with 216 offences and Joseph Ngo with 188 offences for alleged breaches of the Estate Agents Act.

Potential penalties include up to 10 years in jail.

The Director of Consumer Affairs has approved 58 claims from customers who lost trust funds totalling more than $2 million.

Consumer Affairs has also approved the payment of 21 claims for rent money, totalling more than $34,000.

The couple's franchise was terminated by LJ Hooker when the allegations first emerged in April last year.

In a statement a spokesperson for LJ Hooker said: "LJ Hooker is pleased that Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) have concluded their investigations and are now able to bring this matter to the courts, giving all those affected some closure.

"These sorts of occurrences are a blight on the industry, and continued vigilance is of the utmost importance to LJ Hooker and our franchisees."

Judy Nguyen and Joseph Ngo are due to face the Melbourne Magistrate's Court next Friday.

______________________________________________

LJ Hooker real estate agents under investigation over missing client money, six branches shut down

More than 100 customers are owed "substantial" sums of money following the collapse of six LJ Hooker branches in Melbourne, with the couple involved in running the business under investigation for allegedly misappropriating their clients' money.

The ABC has learnt that six LJ Hooker branches in Melbourne were shut down by the company's head office last week with customers claiming that hundreds of thousands of dollars in deposits had gone missing.

In a statement to the ABC the real estate giant said that it had stepped in to end their relationship with the franchisee involved.

"On 21 April 2016 LJ Hooker terminated the franchise offices of LJ Hooker Glen Waverley, Keysborough, Box Hill, Mount Waverley, Doncaster and Burwood … due to a fundamental breach of its franchise agreements," the company said.

The ABC understands the owner of the closed franchises Judy Thanh Truc and her husband Joseph Ngo, are accused of spending home deposits that were supposed to be held in trust for their clients.

Ms Truc is also known as Judy Nguyen.

A real estate website describes Ms Truc as "Director/Officer in effective control" of the business.

According to her online profile, Ms Truc arrived in Australia from Vietnam in 1989 and she holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Business.

The Facebook page for Ms Truc's Glen Waverly LJ Hooker says: "The power of SIX offices under ONE DIRECTOR working for you to achieve the best possible outcome in getting your dream home or invest in a property!"

Do you know more about this story? Email investigations@abc.net.au

When contacted by the ABC Ms Truc denied that she had stolen the money.

"Someone tried to hack my trust account," Ms Truc said.

"I don't know what we are going to do now."

Ms Truc said she was unable to provide more details because the matter was now in the hands of Consumer Affairs Victoria. She said she had notified LJ Hooker's head office of the alleged breach of her bank account.

The LJ Hooker head office strongly refuted Ms Truc's claims.

In a statement to the ABC, LJ Hooker said: "On 20th April, the day prior to termination of the franchise agreement, Ms Judy Nguyen informed LJ Hooker for the first time that her partner, Joseph Ngo had misused trust funds.

"At no time did Ms Nguyen say that her trust account had be hacked.

"Prior to 20 April, LJ Hooker had not been notified that money had been wrongfully taken from the trust accounts of JT Law Investments."

Joseph Ngo could not be reached for comment.

Retiree still waiting for $61,000 deposit

Katarina and John Melah are $61,000 out of pocket after the closure of six Melbourne LJ Hooker outlets.

Retired house painter Jan Melah sold his Dandenong house in January through the Keysborough branch of LJ Hooker.

Retired house painter Jan Melah sold his Dandenong house in January through the Keysborough branch of LJ Hooker.

He said he chose LJ Hooker because they were a trusted brand with an international reputation.

"LJ Hooker have got a good name so we sort of selected LJ Hooker and they told us they had a very good success in the region so we gave everything to LJ Hooker," Mr Melah said.

"Unknown to us, it was a franchise."

Mr Melah and his wife Katarina reached settlement on their Dandenong home in March and expected the buyer's deposit of $61,000 to electronically transferred into their bank account.

However, a day after settlement Mr Melah said he was called by an agent at LJ Hooker and asked to pick up a cheque from the office.

Instead of being given a bank cheque, Mr Melah said he was given a personal cheque to the value of $61,410. The cheque was dishonoured by the bank when Mr Melah tried to deposit it.

"A few days later we received a call from LJ Hooker to come, that they wrote a wrong cheque," Mr Melah said.

He said Mr Ngo told him the business would pay Mr Melah $1,000 compensation and transfer the money directly into his bank account. The money never arrived.

"When I went to a bank I discovered that the money's not been paid so we went straight away to speak to Judy," Mr Melah said.

"She said 'I'm sorry we are having some difficulties but we will pay you $2,000 compensation now and we will put money into your bank on Monday, it will be there'."

'Everything was one big lie'

Mr Melah is yet to receive any of the money.

"I was very disappointed, my wife burst into tears and my heart palpitations went sky high, only to be told that the reception is now nothing and everything was one great big lie," Mr Melah said.

Mr Melah has now taken his complaint to Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV).

CAV has confirmed to the ABC it has launched an investigation, and appointed a statutory manager for the six branches.

A spokesperson for CAV said LJ Hooker was assisting it with an investigation and identifying consumers who had lost money.

"Consumer Affairs Victoria has taken physical possession of the six offices using its powers under the Estate Agents Act 1980, and has instructed the statutory manager to reconstruct records, deal with outstanding consumer and landlord or tenant transactions, and wind the business down," the spokesperson said.

The Victorian Property Fund provides compensation to consumers who have lost money due to the actions of an estate agent.

Clients of LJ Hooker Glen Waverley and the associated branches are advised to contact Consumer Affairs Victoria on 1300 558 181 for further information.