$20K Bail Set For Real Estate Agent Charged With Theft By Deception After Allegedly Taking $60K Deposit From Customer For Home Purchase, Then Refusing To Return It After Contract Was Voided

In Union City, New Jersey, The Jersey Journal reports:

• A Union City real estate agent has been accused of stealing $60,000 that a woman put down as a deposit to purchase a home.
  
  Peter J. Live, 40, of the 1100 block of Bergenline Avenue, is charged with one count of theft by deception, the criminal complaint says.
  
  Live is accused of taking the $60,000 from the woman as a deposit for the purchase of the property and then refusing to return the money after the contract was voided, according to the complaint, which lists the day of the alleged crime as Oct. 6.
  
  The defendant's bail was set at $20,000 with a 10 percent cash option when he made his first court appearance on the charges this afternoon in Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.
  
  There are six warrants for Live's arrest, emanating from municipal courts in Jersey City, North Bergen, Weehawken and Secaucus, a court official said. In court today his lawyer said he believes all of the municipal bails have been resolved.
  
  "My client saved her entire life to buy a home and she trusted Mr. Live with all of her savings," said Mario Blanch, the woman's lawyer.
  
  Blanch added that he has filed a complaint against Live with the New Jersey Real Estate Commission.

Source: Union City real estate agent charged with stealing $60K deposit.