Mortgage Professionals Canada (MPC) has welcomed recent action by the BC Financial Institutions Commission (FICOM) in response to allegations of long-term unregulated mortgage broker activity.
FICOM has issued notices of hearing to address allegations against Dean James Frank Walford that he continued to carry on unregulated mortgage broker activity following a 2011 Cease and Desist Order with the assistance of two registered mortgage brokers, Grant Brian Curtis and Tanya Ann Smith. Mr Walford’s activities were based out of Gibsons, British Columbia.
The allegations contained in a Notice of Hearing are unproven until the Registrar of Mortgage Brokers, or his appointee, has determined their validity.
In a statement, MPC says that it supports the action of FICOM:
“We support FICOM and Chris Carter, B.C.'s Acting Registrar of Mortgage Brokers, as they investigate the purported fraud undertaken by the named unlicensed individual. Mortgage Professionals Canada unequivocally condemns fraud, and any abuse of trust committed by individuals acting outside the covenants of our own professional code of conduct,” the statement says.
If proven, individuals conducting or facilitating unregistered mortgage broker business can receive administrative sanctions, which may include financial penalties up to a maximum of $50,000 plus investigation and hearing costs.
