The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is this year’s recipient of the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR) Investigative Excellence Award for its investigation into Derek Johnson’s unlicensed real estate and mortgage brokerage activity.
The CLEAR Investigative Excellence award recognizes an investigative team in occupational or professional regulation. Winners demonstrate exceptional performance in a particular case or a history of excellent performance beyond what is expected or required, which resulted in a direct and significant impact to the protection of the public or consumer interests, says RECA.
“While the primary purpose of RECA’s professional standards unit is consumer protection, having CLEAR recognize us in this way is an extremely rewarding recognition of the work RECA’s team put in on this file,” says Charles Stevenson, director of professional standards at RECA.
RECA first began investigating Derek Johnson in early 2013. Since then, it has issued five administrative penalties against him for unlicensed activity, with fines totaling more than $100,000. In 2014, the Court of Queen’s Bench granted RECA an injunction against Derek Johnson and his associates, ordering them to cease and desist trading in real estate and dealing in mortgages without a licence. In April 2016, the court found Johnson and a number of his associates in civil contempt of court for breaching that injunction and later sentenced Johnson to two months in jail, says RECA.
“While the Derek Johnson matter is likely one of the most high-profile investigations the RECA team has tackled, it is just one example of the work RECA’s team does to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to consumer protection, and investigative and regulatory excellence,” says Stevenson.
CLEAR is an international resource for stakeholders in professional regulation.
