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A group of rogue Port Melbourne real estate agents has been accused of deceiving landowners in Melbourne’s outer suburbs by repeatedly undervaluing their properties and then selling them to friends or business associates without disclosing personal links to vendors.
The small syndicate of agents within Raine and Horne Land Victoria is also accused of attempting to resell the land to make massive windfall profits, by relisting it at inflated prices and aiming to close the deals before the original settlement window ends.
The practice – known as “flipping” among agents, developers and speculators – has the potential to contribute to land price rises on the city’s fringes, according to one rival agent.
The syndicate of RHLV agents involved in the alleged conduct have boasted online about their luxurious lifestyles replete with trophy homes, lavish overseas holidays and a fleet of luxury cars including a Lamborghini.
An investigation by The Age has scrutinised 15 property transactions, related documents and listings, and spoken to vendors and agents to uncover allegations that some RHLV agents engaged in a series of questionable property deals worth more than $40 million.
Neither the group of agents, nor the franchise have faced any scrutiny from Consumer Affairs Victoria despite repeat complaints from two vendors and another agent.
A spokesman for Consumer Affairs Victoria said it took allegations of real estate misconduct seriously and expected all real estate agents to follow the law. “Estate agents must also act in the best interests of their client and carry out their duties honestly, fairly and in good faith,” he said.
This masthead has identified Rajwinder Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Kevin Paghdar, Amandeep Singh, and Atul Sama as the key players within the syndicate. The Age is not suggesting that others within the firm are accused of any wrongdoing.
The RHLV agents firmly deny the allegations and claim to be the victim of a smear campaign by two former employees embroiled in a legal dispute with the firm over more than $1.5 million in unpaid commissions, which the firm engaged underworld figure Mick Gatto to mediate.
Gatto has business connections with the Victorian arm of the firm and its managing director Randolph Clements, stretching back more than 20 years. However, Clements denies engaging Gatto or any company associated with him to mediate the dispute.
This masthead is not alleging RHLV agents are involved in underworld activity.
The outer-suburban properties targeted by RHLV are often the subject of a precinct structure plan (PSP) imposed by the state government to guide future residential development and infrastructure investment. The land can soar in value when rezoned by the government to allow residential subdivisions that boost the state’s housing supply.
Raine and Horne Victoria managing director Randolph Clements said the allegations against the firm’s agents were “very serious and are being treated as such by myself – as the master franchisee of our Victorian network – and my team.”
“Raine and Horne Land Victoria is independently owned and operated and is committed to acting in the best interests of its vendors at all times,” Clements said. “We are not aware of any vendor who has a concern with the sale process undertaken by our franchise office at Port Melbourne.”
He conceded that RHLV agents had formed longstanding friendships with buyers, but insisted it was “best practice for real estate agents to maintain an active database of prospective buyers”.
Clements himself is not accused of any wrongdoing.
An unsolicited knock on the door
In 2023, Felicity Chafer and Mark McDonald received an unsolicited offer from RHLV agent Jasdeep Singh to sell their Mount Duneed farm.
The couple, who were under financial strain following a troubled investment in disability accommodation, declined two initial offers to list their 50-hectare property.
However, Singh claimed to have suddenly found a “hot buyer” and the couple signed an exclusive sale authority document in May 2023, which included an estimated sale price of $6 million, with a three-year settlement period.
The identity of the mystery buyer was never revealed, and it never resulted in a sale, with Chafer and her partner told the market had suddenly turned cold.
They allege Singh advised them a few months later that his colleague, Kevin Paghdar, had found another potential purchaser.
On 24 July 2023, they were presented with an offer of $5.3 million, which included an extended settlement period of five years and only a small deposit. The couple claim Singh repeatedly told them it was the only offer, and they would be “mad not to accept it”.
“He kept saying that a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush,” Chafer told The Age.
The couple say they eventually yielded to pressure from Singh and signed a heads-of-agreement document on August 1 with Jenishkumar Kardani and/or nominee as the purchaser and agreed to pay $132,500 in commission to RHLV.
In July 2024, a company called Mt Duneed Pty Ltd became the nominee and the transfer was signed by the company’s director Hardik Shah, who claims online to be one of the nation’s top mortgage brokers.
Chafer and McDonald claim they were never informed of the change in nomination, or the identity of the new buyer.
Under section 55 of Victoria’s Estate Agents Act 1980, it is an offence for an estate agent or an agent’s representative to obtain a beneficial interest in a property that they have been commissioned to sell. The only way for an agent to avoid breaching these rules is to have written consent from the vendor and to not claim a commission from the sale. While The Age is not suggesting any agents in the syndicate have committed an offence, they must abide by the provisions of the act.
The couple only discovered later that Kardani was a close friend of both Paghdar and Shah. Images posted on social media confirm the ties between the three wealthy property figures and their families.
Within 18 months of the sale, but before it settled, the Mount Duneed farm was relisted at $8 million. Singh and Paghdar were appointed as agents and stand to earn another significant commission on any deal.
Chafer told The Age she was speaking publicly about her experience with RHLV because she considers it raises broader questions about transparency, accountability and consumer protection in Victoria’s property sector.
“We have become concerned about a number of matters relating to the transaction, including whether all relevant information was properly disclosed, whether potential conflicts of interest were adequately managed, and whether the sale process achieved a fair outcome for us as vendors,” Chafer said.
“The fact that the property was re-advertised before settlement for millions more than our sale price has only deepened our concerns.”
Clements, the master franchisor of Raine and Horne in Victoria, said he was unaware of Chafer’s concerns, but insisted she received a “strong price” based on comparable sales in the area.
Paghdar said he had received complaints from both sides of the transaction, with Kardani believing he had paid too much.
Paghdar said he had relisted the property online at an inflated price for “marketing purposes” and said that if Chafer was unhappy with the sale, she could return the deposit to Kardani.
The agent said overquoting was “not a problem” because the Victorian government “gets two times, three times stamp duty” on the sales.
“So you don’t have to worry on that part. But I have no intention of selling this property because you can’t sell this property even for $6 million right now,” he said.
Flashy cars and barbecues
Roman Polidoro was still grieving the death of his father when agents from Raine and Horne Land Victoria first spoke to his family about selling one of the properties in his estate.
What he felt should have been a straightforward administration of the assets became a source of conflict and division that split the family.
“No family should have to endure such hardship while trying to honour the wishes of a deceased relative,” Polidoro said.
Polidoro’s father died in September 2023, leaving an estate that included a six-hectare corner block in Sunbury, one of Melbourne’s fastest growing corridors.
In January 2024, Polidoro’s two older brothers were named the executors of the estate and appointed RHLV agent Rajwinder Singh to sell the Sunbury block.
By September, they had signed a contract to sell the property to Prabhdeep Singh Brar and/or nominee for $11.1 million, with a commission of $185,000 to RHLV.
A company called 700 Sunbury Road Pty Ltd, created by RHLV agent Amandeep Singh just weeks after the contract was signed, later became the nominee.
As beneficiaries of the estate but not its executors, Polidoro and his two other siblings, twin brother Remo and sister Antoinette, were not involved in the negotiations.
Unknown to Polidoro at the time, Brar was a close associate of several RHLV employees and had more than $40 million in property sales to his name through deals brokered by the real estate firm, despite having arrived in Australia as an international student.
Photos obtained by The Age show Brar attending social events and birthday celebrations with RHLV employees as far back as 2016. Leaked screenshots suggest Brar is also part of a WhatsApp group of real estate agents called “R&H family dinner”.
In one of the photographs, a grinning Brar can be seen standing next to a Toyota LandCruiser adorned with a red bow and bearing plates with his name.
Standing opposite is Atul Sama, an RHLV employee and long-standing friend of Brar who also goes by the nickname “Sunny”.
The vehicle is registered to Brar’s employer, Tech Civil Construction, where Atul Sama and Amandeep Singh, the agent that founded the nominated company in the Polidoro sale, are directors and shareholders.
In a separate image, Brar can be seen posing next to another car, this time a brand new Range Rover. Standing next to him are Amandeep Singh and Rajwinder Singh, the agent that brokered the sale of the Sunbury block on behalf of the Polidoro family.
The Age tried to contact Brar through various means, including his lawyer, but he could not be reached for comment.
In March last year, less than six months after the property was sold to Brar, and before it reached settlement, it was readvertised by RHLV, this time for an inflated price of $16 million and spruiking its potential to house a “commercial superlot”, despite no zoning or planning changes to the area.
Real estate websites list the property as having been sold in September 2025 for an undisclosed price.
Last month, the sale was the subject of a Supreme Court of Victoria hearing where RHLV agents involved in the deal were accused of breaching their obligations, which the agents deny.
“We have grave concerns that there have been significant breaches of fiduciary duties, breaches of contract, misleading or deceptive conduct and potentially unconscionable conduct,” barrister Georgia Douglas told the court on June 17.
The real estate firm and the agents are not listed as defendants in the case, which was brought against Brar and 700 Sunbury Road Pty Ltd, but are involved in the factual circumstances giving rise to the claim.
Douglas, acting for Polidoro and his siblings Remo and Antoinette, told the court RHLV agents had pressured the family to accept a low-ball offer and told them it was “the best they could get”. Months later, the same agents engaged in a public marketing campaign to resell the land $5 million above the original purchase price.
“You’ll see in the advertising material when you have an opportunity that Raine and Horne has gone to quite a bit of effort to show the real value of this site,” Douglas said.
Last week , the parties involved in the Supreme Court case agreed to terminate the contract and walk away from the sale this week.
Another owner, who claims to have been misled by an RHLV agent, is also poised to launch court action against the buyer of their property and may further implicate agents within the syndicate.
Melbourne solicitor Michael Hazell, from RBK Legal, confirmed he acted for both parties in their respective claims involving allegations against the RHLV agents.
Polidoro, who is no longer on speaking terms with his two older brothers, contacted Consumer Affairs Victoria and Raine and Horne’s head office on multiple occasions to flag his concerns but says he was repeatedly ignored.
He said the process of seeking answers and attempting to protect the estate had consumed years of his life and deprived his family of the opportunity to grieve and heal in peace.
“As ordinary Australians, we placed our trust in the integrity of the real estate industry and in the regulatory framework that exists to safeguard the public interest,” Polidoro said.
“The events we have experienced have seriously undermined that trust.”
Clements confirmed he had spoken with Polidoro regarding his concerns about the sale and contacted his brothers, the executors of the estate, “who confirmed their complete satisfaction with the process and the price achieved”.
“I was subsequently advised by the executors that it was appropriate to limit communications to them alone, given they were the sole parties with the legal authority,” Clements said.
Clements confirmed the Sunbury property was temporarily relisted by the new buyer, which he characterised as a “brief speculative effort to test the market value in mid-2025 on the basis the property could potentially be rezoned”.
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