Huijuan ‘Jenny’ Zhou: Sydney real estate agent misused housing deposits to fund own lifestyle

A Sydney real estate agent misused hundreds of thousands of dollars placed into a company trust by prospective homebuyers in order to fund her own lifestyle.

Huijuan “Jenny” Zhou was sentenced to a 10-month suspended jail sentence after she admitted to fraudulently obtaining $539,000 from the trust account of EW Property Group in late 2023.

A NSW Fair Trading Spokesman said Zhou “was found to have repeatedly used housing deposits held in the business trust account for her own benefit, including repayments for loans on her home and purchasing an office”.

“In one instance, Ms Zhou misused a $190,000 house deposit paid to EW Property Group and when the property was later sold to another buyer, Ms Zhou failed to respond to the original purchaser,” the spokesman said.

“The funds were only repaid after the consumer engaged lawyers and lodged a complaint with NSW Fair Trading.”

In one instance, it took Zhou 15 months to return $123,000 owed to one party.

Zhou received a 10-month intensive correction order and a requirement to complete 100 hours of community service in Parramatta Local Court on June 17.

Acting NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Andrew Floro said real estate agents misusing funds represented a “serious breach of trust, particularly when people are seeking to buy a home”.

“This prosecution shows NSW Fair Trading will not tolerate real estate agents who act dishonestly. Trust accounts exist to protect consumers, not be treated as a personal line of credit,” Mr Floro said.

“Agents who misuse client funds are breaking the law and will face enforcement action.”

Zhou will now feature on the NSW Fair Trading Name and Shame Register.