Real estate agent Hayley Philpot leaves elderly woman destitute after stealing $100,000 to fund her lavish lifestyle
A real estate agent who befriended an elderly client and stole nearly $100,000 to fund a lavish lifestyle of luxury fashion, beauty treatments, electronic devices and meals has learned her fate just weeks after welcoming her second child.
Pregnant mother-of-one Hayley Philpot, 29, was this week sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty to theft.
Shocking details of the thefts, which funded dozens of elaborate shopping sprees and left her victim struggling to make ends meet, were uncovered in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
Philpot was working as an agent at Savoy Real Estate Yarra Glen in 2019 when she met her female victim, 80, who wanted to sell her house.
The court heard Philpot helped with the sale and then assisted the woman and her husband with the move to a nursing home, the court heard. Leader of Lilydale and Yarra Valley.
Former real estate agent Hayley Philpot was convicted just weeks before she gave birth to her second child
Philpot was given power of attorney and subsequently erased $98,844 from the woman’s bank account over a 15-month period ending August 2021.
The court heard that Philpot diverted the stolen money on a wide range of purchases ranging from Apple iPhone and a MacBook, hair and beauty treatments and Deliveroo orders, to Uber rides, car repairs, dining out, cinema tickets and pet accessories.
The stolen proceeds also funded expenses at JB Hi-Fi, Kmart, Bunnings, Kookai, Zara, restaurants and bottle shops.
The victim eventually discovered that the money was missing from her account and contacted a lawyer.
The thefts were subsequently reported to the police, resulting in Philpot’s arrest in February 2022.
The court heard Philpot claimed she took the money because her brother needed $40,000 to pay off a ‘bicycle gang debt’.
Prosecutors told the court Philpot exploited the vulnerability of her elderly victim, who had no family support and was supporting her elderly husband with dementia.
“This is the most egregious violation of the [power of attorney] facility,” the prosecutor said.
“Trust was a critical element…the victim will not recover from this financially…our community must be able to trust our system of attorneys.”
The court heard how Melbourne mother Hayley Philpot (pictured) stole almost $100,000 from an elderly client’s bank account
Magistrate David Starvaggi described the thefts as ‘one of the most serious examples of breach of trust’.
Philpot was ordered to pay back more than $60,000 still in his possession in addition to the three-month prison sentence.
She left Savoy Real Estate Yarra Glen in 2020 and has since worked for several other estate agencies.
Philpot describes himself on LinkedIn as an experienced sales agent with a proven history of working in the real estate industry.
She lists her current role as a freelance buyer’s advocate ‘in and around Melbourne, from luxury homes to standard properties’.
Hayley Philpot was ordered to serve a three-month prison sentence and pay back the stolen proceeds