OSOYOOS TIMES-October 20, 2010

By Laurena Weninger – Osoyoos Times

“I called them (the Real Estate Council of B.C.) because there was an indication there were fraudulent maneuvers by one of my employees,” said Carol Youngberg, the managing broker of Osoyoos’s Desert Aire Realty Inc.
The council recently suspended Youngberg’s realtor licence, ordered her to take a remedial education course and pay enforcement expenses in the amount of $1,000.
The council is the governing body that enforces B.C.’s Real Estate Services Act.
The suspension stems from an issue that arose in the fall of 2008 when someone in Youngberg’s company discovered a suspicious entry in the firm’s bookkeeping system.
“When we found the suspicious entry I immediately called my accounting team in,” she said.
Youngberg said she then started pouring over the firm’s books, tracing back entries.
In the end, there were “several” occasions of suspicious entries that she said appeared to be intentional manipulation of rental agreements by an employee to take funds from the company – but not the clients.
“All our clients were protected,” Youngberg said, explaining safeguards were in place for this type of event and any money lost would have been from the realty firm rather than any members of the public.
Youngberg would not be specific about the way the firm’s bookkeeping system was manipulated, but explained that when the details of the inappropriate actions were discovered she contacted the council.
“It had to be reported,” she said, explaining the employee allegedly behind the manipulation was a licensed realtor and the alleged manipulation was a fraudulent act.
Although Youngberg didn’t actually commit the fraudulent acts, the breach was still her responsibility.
“The brokerage takes all responsibility of the actions of the licensees,” she said, pointing out such responsibility is the same in property management as well as real estate sales.
Tyler Davis, a communications officer for the council, said each managing broker is responsible for ensuring business is carried out competently by his or her employers, according to the Real Estate Act.
When it’s not, the broker receives the penalty, regardless of who made the error or carried out the fraudulent activity.
“Consumers have the right to expect monies being held are being done in accordance with the (legislation),” Davis said. “It doesn’t look like consumers were affected by this.”
The woman who allegedly committed the fraud is no longer licensed in B.C. as of February, 2009, Davis said.
Youngberg said her company has five employees as well as another managing broker.
They took over her responsibilities during her week of suspension, from October 13 to 19.
The suspension involved removing Youngberg’s name from the firm’s advertising and she could not conduct any business.
Because a broker is responsible for all employees under his or her charge, as well as their actions, they will take steps to prepare for errors and unintentional breaches of policies in the Real Estate Act, Youngberg said.
“Every managing broker has funds set aside ‘in the event,’” she said.
Other Osoyoos real estate agents have been corrected by the council in the last few years.
In June, 2010, Douglas Jarvis, from Kelowna’s Vantage West Realty Inc., and Sharlene Fernandes, who is currently unlicensed, committed professional misconduct when acting as licensed representatives of Coldwell Banker Desert Aire Realty.
According to a consent order from the council, Jarvis failed to properly disclose in writing to a property buyer that Fernandes, one of the sellers of the property,  was a licensee employed by the same brokerage.
Fernandes failed to properly disclose in writing her interest in the trade of the property.
Both were reprimanded, ordered to complete a trading services remedial education course and ordered to pay enforcement expenses of $1,000.
In December, 2007, Osoyoos’s Ken Davreux “committed professional misconduct” in his responsibilities with Strata Pro Property Management Services when he failed to ensure an accountant report was filed with the council by a certain date.
He was suspended for 60 days, or until the report was received, and ordered to pay enforcement expenses of $1,288.60.
The suspension notice against Youngberg was anonymously delivered to the Osoyoos Times after business hours.
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