A Clyde North entrepreneur who took $1.3 million in payments for affordable ‘tiny home kits’ that he never supplied has been convicted and fined $750,000 in the County Court.
Spencer Porter, 27, was the director of MyTinyHomeKit Pty Ltd and Property Magician Pty Ltd. He pleaded guilty in October to 4 charges under the Australian Consumer Law.
Porter took payments for kits from 43 customers between December 2021 to March 2024. Customers never received them, and the businesses subsequently went into liquidation.
In January 2024, Porter agreed to a range of actions to compensate customers who’d paid for and not received his products. He also agreed to improve his business practices for future customers.
Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) took court action against Porter in November 2024 after he breached the agreement.
While noting his early guilty plea, the court found that Porter's offending was serious, calculated and manipulative, taking a substantial amount of money from people who could least afford to lose it.
It added that the penalties imposed by the court were proportionate to the offending and an important deterrence.
CAV Director Nicole Rich acknowledged the customers who bought kits from Porter’s businesses, 19 of whom shared victim impact statements in court.
“The conviction and fine is significant but will not give back to the people he deceived.”
“The affected customers should be commended for their courage in standing up to this conduct and sharing their stories in court.”
Porter entered bankruptcy in June 2025 but criminal penalties imposed by the court cannot be incorporated into a bankruptcy. They will continue to be enforceable in future years.
Rich emphasised that Consumer Affairs Victoria would continue to use its enforcement powers to crack down on businesses that ripped off Victorians.
“We won't stop pursuing businesses that deceive consumers, particularly when it’s systemic and harms Victorians.”