'Wolf of Burrard Street' property manager gets access to frozen bank accounts
A B.C. property manager fined $100,000 for working without a licence has managed to get access to his frozen bank accounts.
The B.C. Financial Services Authority agreed to rescind an order that had previously frozen the accounts of Colton Ward Roberts.
The self-described ‘Wolf of Burrard Street’ was fined $100,000 and ordered to pay $21,000 in fees in May for providing rental management services from roughly 2016 to 2021 while, for most of that time, being unlicensed.
Roberts would receive rental deposits from tenants, then cancel the agreements and refuse to offer a refund.
On one occasion he took a $1,850 deposit, then "completely ignored" the client. On another, he refused to return a $9,000 deposit. The Vancouver police received multiple complaints.
According to a Globe and Mail article Roberts "cultivated an image of a globe-trotting playboy" and called himself the Wolf of Burrard Street on Instagram.
On one occasion the Rental Tenancy Branch had fined him $7,300 but he'd failed to pay it.
In January 2021 the Financial Services Authority ordered Roberts to stop all activities, however he continued and in July that year, the regulator froze several of his bank accounts.
It's unclear how much money is in the accounts, but a previous decision suggests more than $40,000.
According to a July 4 B.C. Financial Services Authority decision, Roberts argued the money in the accounts wasn't from property rental but the sale of his car and another $7,000 was a friend's.
Roberts had applied to have the account unfrozen but had his application rejected.
However, in May he signed a consent agreement admitting to the wrongdoing and agreeing to pay the $120,000 bill.
In his latest attempt to get his bank account back, Roberts argued he had repaid one individual, and needed the money to pay some of the $100,000 penalty he received.
The B.C. Financial Service Authority ruled that as Roberts had agreed to the consent order and repaid one individual his circumstances were different than when the hearing was pending.
The regulator said that the accounts were frozen in order to protect the public, but it was now satisfied that the public interest was now protected.
Ultimately, the regulator allowed Roberts to have access to his bank accounts again.
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