Regulator says agent submitted falsified documents and violated industry regulations
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Ontario has imposed administrative penalties amounting to $52,000 on mortgage agent Jaswinder Dhanoa.
The regulator said Dhanoa submitted falsified documents to a lender, accepted payments outside her brokerage, and failed to maintain required mortgage transaction records for her brokerage.
These actions were found to contravene the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders, and Administrators Act of 2006 and related regulations.
Initially, the FSRA proposed penalties totaling $140,000. This included 22 penalties of $5,000 each for providing false information, three penalties totaling $20,000 for accepting payments outside her brokerage, and $10,000 for causing record-keeping failures at her brokerage.
The lender, First National Financial, advised FSRA on December 5, 2021 that Dhanoa had submitted fraudulent proof of downpayment documentation and fraudulent income verification documentation in 22 mortgage applications between April 2018 and June 2021.
A total of 32 altered bank account statements were submitted in support of those applications, with the discrepancies in the altered statements inflating the applicants’ down payment funds by amounts ranging from $15,000 to more than $170,000.
FSRA also said that Dhanoa provided fraudulent employment information for nine mortgage applications, including fabricated letters of employment and payroll deposits.
Dhanoa earned $37,942.12 in commissions from these transactions, although Mortgage Alliance withheld the remaining balance due to her failure to provide required documentation.
Dhanoa contested the allegations and initially sought a hearing with the Financial Services Tribunal. However, she later agreed to a settlement with FSRA, admitting to the violations and accepting a reduced penalty of $52,000. As part of the settlement, Dhanoa acknowledged receiving $51,942.12 in compensation related to the misconduct.
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