Is $1.4 Million actually a Lot for a Strata Manager to Steal?

A Sydney strata manager has been sentenced to a 2 year and 10 month intensive correction order [which means non full time prison] and 450 hours of community service; ordered to pay $100,000 compensation and $30,000 in legal costs; and; lost her property licences.

That’s because between 2013 and 2019, whilst she was a strata manager and licensee in charge at Prestige Strata Management, Kylie Marie Lane, made 31 transfers from strata building trust accounts to herself or for her benefit totalling $1.4 million.

That seems like a lot of money [especially for a smaller strata management business.] But, it only took 31 EFTs averaging $45,000 or so each.

So, maybe it’s not really a lot of money compared to how much strata money that businesses’ strata buildings had sitting in their trust accounts over those 6 years, which was probably 25 or more times that amount.

That makes me wonder how much money a similarly dishonest strata manager could steal in a much bigger strata management business given the amounts I know are sitting in strata building trust accounts.

It could be a helluva lot more than $1.4 million.

And, whilst getting a criminal conviction, getting some money back and not being a strata manager also seems a vindication and heavy penalty, is it really?

In fact, it makes me also wonder that if the consequences of stealing strata money are a non-full-time prison sentence, repaying 10% of the money and losing a strata manager licence many years later, that’s hardly a serious deterrent [and for some, a good risk profile].

After all, what sentence and penalties would get imposed for stealing $10 million [or $100 million] in strata money?

So, that’s why I seriously ask:

Is $1.4 Million actually a Lot for a Strata Manager to Steal?