Trust account fraud !should the laws be tougher when you manage others money?

[BookerL]

Hi all


Trust account fraud occurred in Canada recently !
http://www.peacearchnews.com/business/273208821.html,

http://globalnews.ca/news/1533450/surrey-real-estate-firm-licence-suspended/



Brings up concerns about the public's confidence in trust accounts ?



Warmest Regards



BookerL

 

[EagerBeaver]

booker L,

What are you questioning should be done that is not done already? My firm maintains a trust account for client's funds that we are required to register with the Statewide Grievance Committee. The SGC can conduct random audits of the account. It's criminal embezzlement to take money from such accounts without client authorization. In addition to this do you know I pay $110 a year to the Client security fund which is essentially a fund that provides compensation to those defrauded by others? Other than these things there is not much more that the State can do to stop an embezzlement. It will always happen that there are a few bad apples out there. To me it is a Buyer Beware situation and people who do business with crooked attorneys and brokers deserve some of the blame in some cases.

I was at the front lines of the effort to resolve issues stemming from the real estate market crash in 2008. You would not believe the number of loans I saw underwritten for people who had not the ability to pay their mortgage from day one and did not pay their mortgage from day one. How can the mortgage broker, the attorney, the real estate broker and the client all not know this? I was left to fix these messes. I was one of the "National Guard" working in our court system to clean this mess up. I refer to Connecticut of course but this was happening elsewhere as well. Plenty of blame to go around to all parties to the transactions. In the real estate business it is a culture of greed and the repercussions are still felt in 2014.

I did an Internet search on the business you posted about. They were only in business for 2 years. Rule number one is be careful dealing with someone who has not been in business long and has no rep in the community.

 

[cumbychance]

While there is always a risk when humans are involved there are ways to limit risk. Here in Québec we can mostly rely on lawyers and notaries not to steal trust funds because they don't want to loose the right to practice if caught with their hand in the cookie jar. However, I am in the middle of a commercial real estate deal now and the initial deposit was made to the Notary and not the real estate company. I am much more comfortable with this arrangement than having my funds held by a company to secure it's commission.

 

[BookerL]

Hi all

booker L,

What are you questioning should be done that is not done already? My firm maintains a trust account for client's funds that we are required to register with the Statewide Grievance Committee. The SGC can conduct random audits of the account. It's criminal embezzlement to take money from such accounts without client authorization. In addition to this do you know I pay $110 a year to the Client security fund which is essentially a fund that provides compensation to those defrauded by others? Other than these things there is not much more that the State can do to stop an embezzlement. It will always happen that there are a few bad apples out there. To me it is a Buyer Beware situation and people who do business with crooked attorneys and brokers deserve some of the blame in some cases.

In some jurisdiction they are likely more protected but this is not a hypothetical scenarios it is happening right now in BC and lots of people are affected by it .

I was at the front lines of the effort to resolve issues stemming from the real estate market crash in 2008. You would not believe the number of loans I saw underwritten for people who had not the ability to pay their mortgage from day one and did not pay their mortgage from day one. How can the mortgage broker, the attorney, the real estate broker and the client all not know this? I was left to fix these messes. I was one of the "National Guard" working in our court system to clean this mess up. I refer to Connecticut of course but this was happening elsewhere as well. Plenty of blame to go around to all parties to the transactions. In the real estate business it is a culture of greed and the repercussions are still felt in 2014.

I would like to see a list of none greed businesses actually !Haha:lol:
The purpose of any business is profit ,not only real estate

I did an Internet search on the business you posted about. They were only in business for 2 years. Rule number one is be careful dealing with someone who has not been in business long and has no rep in the community.

Yes exactly, not quite two years .They where Real estate agents for way longer and that they has a good reputation ,that is what is creating the mess


Cheers



BookerL

 

[BookerL]

Hi all

Latest news
http://thelinkpaper.ca/?p=40181

South Asian Run Realty Company Shut Down And Bank Accounts Frozen

The Real Estate Council of BC closed 8th Avenue Elite Realty because it says the public interest would be hurt by “the length of time required to complete an investigation or hold a disciplinary hearing.” The council has ordered 12 accounts at four different banks be frozen. According to News 1130, the company was set up in 2012 by Rup Dawoodharry and lists an office on 32nd Avenue. Its phone is continuously busy and her page on LinkedIn can no longer be found.

SURREY (NEWS1130) – A South Asian run real estate company in Surrey has been shut down and its bank accounts frozen by industry regulators who will hold a hearing into the firm.

The Real Estate Council of BC says it closed 8th Avenue Elite Realty because the public interest would be hurt by “the length of time required to complete an investigation or hold a disciplinary hearing.”

The council has ordered 12 accounts at four different banks be frozen.

The Council suspended the license as a result of the failure of 8th Avenue Elite Realty Ltd. to account for trust monies held on behalf of clients.

“8th Avenue Elite Realty Ltd. is prohibited from providing real estate services to or on behalf of any member of the public as a result of this order. This suspension is in accordance with section 45 of the Real Estate Services Act and remains in effect until further notice,” the Council said in a press release.

The company was set up in 2012 by Rup Dawoodharry and lists an office on 32nd Avenue. Its phone is continuously busy and her page on LinkedIn can no longer be found, reported News 1130.

The Web site 8thavenue.ca is dead, but the site dawoodharryteam.com is still active. A third site, homeforeclosuresbc.com, has this message:

Dawoodharry was also trying to franchise 8th Avenue Elite elsewhere in BC.

Marilee Peters, communications officer for Real Estate Council of BC, the provincial regulatory agency, told Peace Arch News Thursday that she could not disclose when investigation into the brokerage began, the value of monies unaccounted for or the number of clients affected.

She did say that such orders are “fortunately, a rare occurrence.”

Peters said “slightly less than 70” real estate agents were licensed under 8th Avenue, which was operating out of Morgan Creek Corporate Centre, at 210-15252 32 Ave.

“Because the brokerage’s licence has been suspended, their licence is inoperative,” Peters said of the associated agents.

However, the disciplinary step does not prevent those agents from transferring their licence to another brokerage.

A note posted on the brokerage’s Facebook page Aug. 25 appeals for information on the whereabouts of two individuals, reported Peace Arch News.

“The staff has left and the commission cheques are not being paid!” writes Julia Greene. “Please contact the Real Estate Council if you know anything…”

According to the Facebook page, the “real estate brokerage and real estate education center” opened on Jan. 11, 2013, offering “a new brand in real estate.”

“8th Avenue strives to be modern, trendy, professional, connected, and provide leading edge technology to its agents to provide customers with results they deserve.”

Peters told Peace Arch News the council is “working very hard” on the case, but she could not predict how long the investigation might take.

Inquiries from concerned clients of 8th Avenue Elite Realty Ltd. should be directed to the Council at 604-683-9664 or toll-free at 1-877-683-9664.

The Council is a regulatory agency established by the provincial government. Its mandate is to protect the public by enforcing the licensing and licensee conduct requirements of the Real Estate Services Act.