A real estate agent who owned a franchise of Australia’s Ray White brokerage has reportedly fled the country after being accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from her company and clients.
According to combined media reports, Debra Lawry – who also worked under the name Debra Watchman – reportedly drained as much as $230,000 from the trust account of her franchise, Ray White Romsey. Lawry was facing either the suspension or cancelation of her real estate license by Consumer Affairs Victoria for compliance failures with her trust account audit obligations between 2019 and 2023. The regulator issued a statement on Sept. 17 that it would be taking disciplinary action against Lawry, who was scheduled to appear at a hearing on Sept. 24.
Lawry failed to appear at the hearing and her company asked the Victoria Police to conduct a welfare check at her home, but she was not located. Staff members at her office stated Lawry was trying to book long-term accommodation in Italy, but her current whereabouts are unknown.
Domenic Belfiore, CEO of Ray White Victoria and Tasmania, stated it was “understood that [she] fled the country that week” and added the company has taken action to protect Romsey franchise’s buyers and sellers whose contracts had not been settled.
“Rest assured, no one will be out of pocket,” said Belfiore.
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