Calgary, Alberta – On March 14, 2023, the Residential Real Estate Broker Industry Council of the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) approved an application by Michael Emmanuel Francis under s.54 of the Real Estate Act to permanently withdraw their licence, effective immediately.
At the time of their application, Francis was the subject of an investigation under the Real Estate Act, due to several complaints. A total of nine matters were under investigation. The most serious issues under investigation were:
Multiple instances of:
- failing to act competently in a transaction, contrary to s. 41(b) of the Real Estate Act Rules.
- signing a backdated Contract for Posting Without Representation with an inflated purchase price that had been prefilled by an unlicensed third party
- listing the property on an online listing database prior to having this contract signed, and did so with an inflated purchase price, despite the broker advising the price was too high
- posting the property on an online listing database without measuring it, and relying on measurements from an unlicensed third party
- failing to provide their broker in a timely manner all original documentation provided to the parties or maintained by other brokerages, contrary to s. 53(c) of the Real Estate Act Rules
And further instances of:
- relying on an unlicensed third party to pull title
- providing backdated FINTRAC sheet to the brokerage
- failing to provide their brokerage with the transaction record sheet or the measurements of the property
- provided the Contract for Posting Without Representation and FINTRAC sheet to the brokerage more than a month after the property was already listed
- did not inform their brokerage of this transaction yet a third party drafted forged documents from their brokerage confirming commissions.
- did not provide their brokerage with any information about the listing and transaction until the brokerage demanded it during the investigation well after the listing and sale
- inflated the purchase price on an online listing database without basis
- presented a Residential Purchase Contract to sign which was prefilled by an unlicensed third party, and falsely listed the buyer’s associate
The review of three of the nine matters is complete. No finding of conduct deserving of sanction or a referral to a hearing has been made by RECA’s Registrar on any of the issues under investigation.
Under the Real Estate Act, the approved withdrawal application results in Francis’s lifetime prohibition as a licensee, effective immediately. Conduct proceedings are also discontinued.
For more information, please see the approval letter issued by the Chair of the Residential Real Estate Broker Industry Council.
March 30, 2023 – Michael Emmanuel Francis: Lifetime Withdrawal from Industry
