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July 21, 2024 - 7:00 PM
A BC mortgage broker, who got kickbacks for referring clients to an unlicenced mortgage broker, has been stripped of her licence and ordered to pay $130,000.
According to a July 10, BC Financial Services Authority decision, Rashin Rohani referred six clients to an unnamed unlicenced mortgage broker taking a 1% finders fee totalling $72,639.
Rohani also used forged paperwork to purchase several properties herself.
The regulator calls her conduct "egregious."
"Ms. Rohani participated not only in perpetuating a fraud on lenders with respect to her own mortgages, but that she also, by referring clients to (the fake broker), knew that further mortgages with falsified documents would be submitted," the decision read.
The regulator goes on to say that Rohani's "fraudulent document scheme" brings the real estate industry into disrepute.
READ MORE: BC realtor fined $50,000 after sale to friends fails
Rohani worked in North Vancouver and the sales all involved homes in the Lower Mainland.
The regulator argued the now-former realtor should pay a $100,000 fine plus $116,000 in costs.
Rohani said she was incapable of paying such an amount.
However, the regulator points out that her name is on the title of three properties.
Rohani said she receives no rental income from them but provided no evidence that she wasn't entitled to any equity in the properties.
She also argued the fine was steep for someone without a previous record of misconduct.
The regulator didn't buy it.
"Individuals who participate in regulated industries are subject to the laws, rules, and regulations associated with those industries. They are expected to comply with the laws, rules, and regulations that are applicable to them," the decision read.
Ultimately, the regulator fined Rohani $40,000 and ordered her to pay costs of $90,000. She also lost her licence.
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