A suspended Winnipeg real estate broker/owner has been permanently barred from obtaining a real estate or mortgage broker licence and has been fined $60,000.
David Douglas, who is still facing criminal charges, was found guilty of fraud under the Real Estate Brokers Act and the Mortgage Brokers Act. He was the broker/owner of HomeLife Village Realty and Abacus Mortgage Group, as well as some renovation companies. His real estate licence was suspended in March 2014.
“Douglas’ conduct was egregious. He clearly was guilty of fraudulent conduct under both REBA and the MBA,” says the Manitoba Securities Commission decision. “This is serious in itself, but factors exacerbating these wrongs are evident in the deceitful and manipulative course of conduct he engaged in and the devastating financial results it brought upon innocent people who relied upon him for guidance and fair dealing.”
The decision says Douglas “purported to sell and build on one property for two different buyers at the same (time) and took money from each of them, which was never accounted for.”
The decision says that “perhaps most shameful” was Douglas’ mistreatment of some clients “who were neophytes in his world and who were manipulated into mortgaging their home to the hilt and losing their life savings as a result of their dealings with him.”
The couple “dealt with and trusted Douglas and their money was used for a risky third mortgage on a property they didn’t know and which was owned legally by a person they didn’t know who held it as a trustee.”
The decision says the couple, who took cash out of their RRSPs at Douglas’ urging, “lost over $150,000 in these transactions, have a large mortgage obligation outstanding and lost their retirement savings. They are close to financial ruin.”
Geraldine Douglas, David’s mother, was the authorized official of HomeLife Village and Abacus. Her suspensions under REBA and the MBA will continue indefinitely, but the panel ruled that her actions were “primarily a question of ability as opposed to proven misconduct.”
