Lawyers Weekly Australia
After weeks of no contact, clients of Trent Rogaris learnt “several painful revelations” about the man who had pretended to be their solicitor, including a recent payment of $330,000 was missing, his firm Castle Law Group was not a real legal practice, and they had been defrauded a total of $456,093 from as far back as 2021.
Following a final hearing that Rogaris did not attend, the NSW Supreme Court awarded judgment to the clients for their stolen money and just over $43,000 in interest. Rogaris and the firm were also restrained from diminishing the value of assets below $499,979.
The conduct has already been referred to police.
Justice Michael Slattery said Rogaris and Castle Law held themselves out as “professional advisors” to create a relationship of trust.
“They created a situation of vulnerability for the plaintiffs. That situation attracted the necessary elements for the creation of a traditionally accepted fiduciary relationship akin to the solicitor/client relationship which the plaintiffs were induced to believe existed,” Justice Slattery determined.
