New blow for disgraced real estate agent who fled Australia after $500,000 fraud
Australian born Sarah Dougan, who lives in the US, pleaded guilty in 2020 and 2021 to fraudulent offences carried out while working as a director for Belle Property Byron Bay in far northern NSW.
But last week, the NSW Supreme Court refused her appeal to appear for sentencing via an audio visual link, requiring her to return to Australia to attend in person.
It follows a failure to appear in Parramatta Court in November 2023.
The case followed NSW Fair Trading investigation in 2011 into the agency over complaints the business failed to 'account at settlement' when transferring ownership of a property.
The court heard that Dougan provided investigators with false NAB statements for two trust accounts.
They then discovered in June that year that $534,320.99 was missing from the trusts.
NSW Fair Trading launched legal proceedings in 2013 over the offences, a year after Ms Dougan moved to the US.
The court also heard that the former real estate agent was only made aware of the charges against her 'some time after May 2017' while applying for permanent residency.
Since moving to the US, Dougan has rebuilt a new life as a chief executive of a medical testing lab, got married, raised five children, and now lives in a multimillion-dollar mansion.
'No one knew there was a warrant to issue,' Dougan's lawyer Omar Juweinat told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.
At Paramatta Local Court in 2020 and 2021, Dougan pleaded guilty to offences which included the misappropriation of client funds and the creation of false documents to conceal that misappropriation.
The court also heard that she paid at least $373,917 to the Property Services Compensation Fund in 2020.
But the former real estate agent did not appear for sentencing in 2023 and a magistrate refused to sentence her by audio visual link.
Dougan launched a leave to appeal at NSW Supreme Court, requesting the decision stopping her from appearing remotely to be overturned
The request was refused last week and she was ordered to pay court costs.
The consumer watchdog is determined to bring Dougan to justice.
'It is entirely appropriate the sentencing for those offences occurs in NSW in person,' NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Natasha Mann told Daily Mail Australia.
'NSW Fair Trading has patiently waited to bring this matter to a conclusion.
'Our persistence sends a clear message to real estate agents of how seriously the regulator takes cases where there has been a complete disregard for industry rules.'
Dougan's appeal to have a previous warrant issued for her arrest quashed was successful after the Supreme Court ruled that it had been made by mistake.
She was not formally convicted in 2023 and, as such, the recorded warrant in the JusticeLink was 'entered erroneously', the court judgement read.
'Dougan's appeal was partly successful,' Mr Juweinat said, referencing the ruling on the mistaken warrant.
'But unfortunately the parties are now asking the High Court to determine a question of law as to whether a defendant is an absent defendant if they are appearing in court remotely.'
Daily Mail Australia understands that the case to the High Court is in the process of being filed.
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