Five years ago, Fiona Cairns called a local real estate agency to inquire about buying an off-the-plan townhouse on Brisbane’s bayside for her retirement.
Unfortunately for her, James George Chetcuti answered the phone. He then promptly drove to her home to discuss the future sale.
In the months that followed, Cairns lost her home as Chetcuti “wove threads of truth into lies”, according to a judgment published by Queensland’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Cairns said she was coerced and pressured into purchasing the yet-to-be-built townhouse in Victoria Point, subsequently selling her own unit and then putting $198,509 into a bogus investment scheme.
“The applicant [Cairns] said that from the first day she met the respondent at her home, he talked about selling her house and investing the funds,” the QCAT judgment reads.
“She knew she would have to sell her home eventually to pay for the townhouse, however she was not ready at that time.”
But Chetcuti contacted her daily, saying things like, “Well, you know, maybe we can get an investor to buy it, and you can rent it back off them,” and, “You’re better off selling your property and liquidising your funds”.
He suggested she “start all afresh” and said, “the developer has advised us it’s only a six-month build”. He told her to sell her unit “quickly and quietly”, and to trust him to handle everything.
Cairns said she was aware of a shortage of building materials at the time due to the COVID pandemic. However, she said Chetcuti assured her there would be no delay to the townhouse build.
“Don’t worry about that, Fiona. You know, the developers bought all of the timber from Gills down at Cleveland,” he told her.
“He created a sense of urgency by telling her the townhouses were selling quickly, and the prices were going up,” the judgment reads.
“She said the respondent played on her financial pressure and fear that she could potentially lose the chance to buy the townhouse.
“He even called her while she was on holiday in New Zealand, asking her when she could pay the deposit.”
Cairns believed him and was reassured by his Google rating that was over 4.9.
After she signed the contract for the townhouse, Chetcuti called her every week, pressuring her to sell her Cleveland unit.
She signed a contract for the sale of her home on July 12, 2021.
The townhouse was not yet built, so Chetcuti arranged for Cairns to rent a unit managed by his wife, another property agent at First National Cleveland. She is not accused of any wrongdoing.
After the sale of her unit, Chetcuti told Cairns of an opportunity to buy $198,509 worth of shares in mining company Fortescue through a trading platform called Share Sight.
“She paraphrased what he said as, ‘Look, I’ve got this opportunity for you … Trust me, you know, I’m a real estate agent and this is what I’m going to do to, you know, help you’,” the judgment says.
In October 2022, Cairns asked Chetcuti to return $9000 so she could pay for a trip. He promptly gave her the money.
The following year, Cairns retired and asked Chetcuti to return the rest of her investment money. He agreed, but over the following four weeks was evasive and gave different “implausible excuses” for not returning the money.
By mid-2023, Cairns realised she had been duped.
The unit she had been coerced into selling in July 2021 for $557,000 was resold in November 2023 for $679,000.
And by the time the townhouse was built, Cairns could no longer afford to buy it. It was sold to someone else in 2024.
She later learnt that Chetcuti had been declared bankrupt in July 2021 – the same month he sold her unit.
“I am satisfied that the respondent used his status as a real estate salesperson … to lay the foundation to deceive and manipulate the applicant,” QCAT member Rebecca Bellamy said.
“He wove threads of truth into lies … I accept that he used psychological manipulation tactics, such as creating a sense of urgency and normalising the actions he wanted the applicant to take.
“I am satisfied that the respondent’s motive was to misappropriate the sale proceeds. It may also have been to earn commission on the sale and generate a stream of rental commission for his wife.”
She added that Cairns had fallen victim to a “skilful, fraudster who had the appearance of legitimacy”.
Bellamy ordered Cairns to receive $271,226 from a special claim fund established under the Agents Financial Administration Act 2014.
The fund was set up to compensate consumers for financial losses caused by real estate agents, car dealers, or auctioneers.
Bellamy found Chetcuti, who did not respond to the tribunal and did not take part in the hearing, liable to repay the claim fund.
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