Calgary, Alberta – On November 24, 2017, a Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) Hearing Panel suspended Judy Nelson’s real estate licence for three months; ordered her and her former brokerage Willow Creek Realty Ltd. to jointly pay fines totaling $23,000; and, ordered Ms. Nelson to pay costs of $500 and complete an educational requirement.
The Hearing Panel found:
- Ms. Nelson failed to disburse money received or held in trust in accordance with the Rules and with the terms of the trust governing the use of that money
- Ms. Nelson failed to fulfill her fiduciary obligations owed to clients in her capacity as broker by improperly using trust funds to fund the operating expenditures of the brokerage
- Willow Creek Realty Ltd. ceased to carry on business and did not provide to the Executive Director an accountant’s report on the status of monies held in trust within 30 days
- Willow Creek Realty Ltd. made bank transfers out of an account in which money was held in trust, which created a negative balance in a client or customer’s ledgers
- Willow Creek Realty Ltd. did not deposit the brokerage’s own money into a trust account as soon as the amount of a shortage in the trust account was determined
- Willow Creek Realty Ltd. failed to report to the Executive Director at the brokerage’s fiscal year end with regard to the operation of its trust accounts
- At the time of the events in question, Ms. Nelson was broker of Willow Creek Realty Ltd. Currently, Ms. Nelson is a real estate associate broker with Re/Max House of Real Estate in Calgary.
The Hearing Panel ordered that Ms. Nelson’s suspension is to begin on December 15, 2017.
To review the Hearing Panel order in its entirety, please click here.
The Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) is an independent, non-government agency, responsible for governing real estate, mortgage broker, property management, and real estate appraisal industry professionals under Alberta’s Real Estate Act. RECA’s mandate is to protect consumers and to provide services that enhance and improve the industry and the business of industry professionals.
