The British Columbia Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) recently determined that former real estate agent Jake Singh Kanda committed professional misconduct by failing to notify provincial licensing authorities that he had been charged with a criminal offence.
British Columbia's Real Estate Services Act requires licensees to notify the BCFSA's Real Estate Director in writing if they have been charged with or convicted of an offence, and to provide that notice to the managing broker.
The ruling noted that Kanda had not attended any BCFSA hearings and had not been licensed under the Real Estate Act since February 2023.
Thirty-four charges were involved and requested information was “withheld, concealed or refused to be provided.”
The decisions posted on the regulator's website include nine charges in February 2019, 10 in January 2021 and nine in July 2021.
Six charges, filed in October 2016 (before Kanda received his real estate license), were dropped in relation to a May 2021 allegation that Kanda “submitted false or misleading statements in response to a request for investigation by the Real Estate Board of British Columbia (RECBC) on April 7, 2021.”
Few charges were substantiated, and the 2019 and 2021 charges were similar and stemmed from a 2016 incident.
The document also noted Kanda “withheld, concealed or refused to provide” information requested by RECBC, and “failed to promptly notify the supervisor in writing” in May 2022 after he was convicted in October 2016 of assault and pointing a firearm at a person.
Decision
After receiving a request from investigators in April 2021, Kanda's lawyers stated in a letter in May 2021 that the charges were dropped “because they were false accusations” and that the court had decided “to permanently dismiss the charges and not seek further prosecution.” The ruling noted that this was false or misleading, as Kanda and his lawyers should have known (approximately 15 days before the statement was made) that the case was still under appeal.
In February 2022, investigators emailed Kanda's lawyers, noting that the stay of proceedings on the 2019 charges had been revoked, and requesting updates and court documents on the 2016 charges. Similar requests had been made in July and September 2021. Updates and documents were provided in August 2022, along with information on the 2019 and July 2021 charges. However, the ruling noted that “there is no explanation for the significant delay.”
The decision noted that prior to this, despite a request in April 2021, the BCFSA had not been provided with any reasons or information in November 2020 when a stay of proceedings on the 2019 charges was granted.
The BCFSA concluded that Mr Kanda was guilty of professional misconduct because he failed to inform his supervisor and managing broker of the allegations and conviction against him.
The full regulator's decision can be found here.