BC mortgage broker who lied to regulator on the hook $83K
A BC mortgage broker who made $56,000 while working without a license is on the hook for $83,000 in fines and costs.
The BC Financial Services Authority has fined Styles William Stewart $50,000 and ordered him to pay $33,625 in costs for processing 23 mortgages after he lost his licence.
According to an Aug. 14 BC Financial Services Authority decision, Stewart also gave a client fake documents showing he was registered using a bogus registration number.
Once under investigation, Stewart lied to the regulator saying he couldn't remember when he last submitted a mortgage application, even though he had completed one that day.
"Mr. Stewart’s misconduct was intentional and deceptive, and demonstrated a disregard... and a contempt for the regulator," the Financial Services Authority said in the decision.
The regulator said he showed a "flagrant disregard" for the rules governing mortgage brokers.
Stewart's issues began in 2021 when he was fired from a firm he'd worked for since 2008 for "regulatory breaches" and "secret commissions."
The decision doesn't say where the firm was, but it appears he was working in North Vancouver.
After getting fired, Stewart lost his licence but continued to work as a submortgage broker with his company his company First Expanse Financial Corp.
He ignored warnings from the regulator to stop working and was issued a cease-and-desist order in early 2023.
The decision says Stewart earned $56,000 in commission in the seven months he worked without a licence.
In an unusual move, Stewart tried to sue a company he worked with which had fired him for not being licenced. In the case launched at the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, Stewart argued that even though he wasn't licenced, the firm still owed him commissions on mortgages he facilitated and they made money on. He didn't win.
In his dealing with the regulator, Stewart argued his fine should be minimized because while he was unlicenced, the mortgages he had processed had all been done by the book and no harm had been caused to the borrowers or lenders.
"He believed that he had in fact provided good service," the decision reads.
However, the regulator didn't see it like that.
"Mr. Stewart needs to be discouraged from engaging in any misconduct of this type in the future," the Financial Services Authority said. "To conclude that any penalty issued against him should be mitigated... by the fact that although he flagrantly disregarded the rules... he did so in a manner that did not cause any specific harm to his clients, would not, in my view, provide the deterrent effect that is required."
The former broker also argued that at the time he "was not doing well mentally" and had started using drugs and alcohol to cope with depression and anxiety and had made poor decisions, and told lies because his judgment was impaired.
Stewart said he was now sober and remorseful for what he had done.
However, the regulator said he hadn't supplied any medical evidence to say he was unable to follow the rules because of his mental health.
"While I am sympathetic to Mr. Stewart’s issues around that time, I do not consider the evidence before me to suggest that Mr. Stewart did not know that what he was doing was wrong," the regulator said.
Ultimately, the regulator said his conduct warranted a significant penalty.
Stewart now has 60 days to pay the $83,000.
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