Sale of B.C. home without owner's consent leads to $300K in penalties for real estate professionals
CBC
A fraudulent scheme that saw an unoccupied home in Richmond, B.C., sold without the owner's consent has led to more than $300,000 in discipline penalties and costs for the real estate agents and brokers involved.
According to a notice from the B.C. Financial Services Authority (BCFSA), the Pacific Evergreen Realty agents and managing brokers involved in the 2019 sale were not complicit in the scam, but "they failed to take reasonable measures at multiple points in the transaction."
The BCFSA says at least two men were involved in the fraud. One posed as the owner of the house and used a fake driver's licence to get a notarized power of attorney, while the second posed as the attorney to conduct the sale.
The case has also led to both a civil lawsuit and criminal charges, and court documents suggest the Chinese businesswoman who owned the property is still fighting to get it back, four years later.
Consent orders posted by the BCFSA this week show that Pacific Evergreen agents Tracy Xiaomei Li, who represented the phoney seller, and David Chian Wei Yang, who represented the buyer, have both admitted to misconduct for their roles in the sale.
Li has been ordered to pay a $100,000 penalty and $7,000 in enforcement expenses, while Yang will pay a $50,000 penalty and $5,000 in expenses. They will both also be placed under enhanced supervision.
Their supervisors, managing brokers Lok Chi Annie Fong and Lo-Ming Lee must each pay $55,000 in penalties and costs for misconduct, while the brokerage has been ordered to pay $30,000 in penalties and expenses.
"The penalties reflect the severity of the licensees' failure to meet their core responsibilities, including know-your-client obligations and duties to act honestly and with reasonable care and skill," Jonathan Vandall, the BCFSA's vice-president of compliance and enforcement, said in a written statement.
"Licensees must uphold their professional obligations, even if they are under pressure from their clients. Those who neglect their professional responsibilities will face discipline, especially where there is consumer harm."
According to the BCFSA, Li did not carefully verify the seller's ID or the power of attorney. She also obscured the timeline of the transaction by backdating disclosure documents and a fee agreement, the regulator says.
Meanwhile, Yang didn't take the proper steps to investigate the suspicious circumstances of the deal or inform the buyer about all the red flags, according to the BCFSA.
CBC has reached out to Pacific Evergreen for comment.
An amended notice of civil claim filed this summer by the home's original owner Yuan You fills in many of the details about what allegedly happened to her property on Colbeck Road.
Li, Yang and Pacific Evergreen are all named as defendants, although the claim states that they have settled the matter out of court on undisclosed terms since You first filed the lawsuit in 2020.
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