Former Surrey realtor banned for 25 years for pocketing $168,000 in deposits

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      Rupinder Dawodharry will not be a realtor for a very long time.

      She is barred from applying for a licence for 25 years because of misconduct.

      Dawodharry misappropriated around $168,000 in deposits related to nine property sales.

      On July 25 this year, the Real Estate Council of B.C. (RECBC) posted on its website its disciplinary decision regarding Dawodharry’s wrongdoing.

      Based on the regulator’s summary, Dawodharry “committed wrongful taking and deceptive dealing, and conduct unbecoming a licensee”.

      Dawodharry committed the offence while she was the managing broker of the Surrey-based 8th Avenue Elite Realty Ltd.

      “Ms. Dawodharry misappropriated, wrongfully converted and/or intentionally failed to pay over (or account to) clients for monies provided to the brokerage in trust for several transactions,” according to the RECBC’s summary.

      Dawodharry’s company has been closed since August 2014 following an order by the regulator.

      Her licence was also suspended at that time, and it lapsed in January 2015.

      Dawodharry prepared a consent order proposal for the RECBC, which admitted to the facts of the case against her.

      “When deposits were made to the 8th Avenue Elite trust account, the funds were commingled with any other funds in that account,” the document submitted by Dawodharry stated. “The monies therein were used for a variety of purposes, unrelated to the transactions in relation to which the deposits were provided by the clients.”

      The paper continued to note that based on the RECBC’s analysis, “certain sales identified as pending and for which the deposit has been removed from trust were only able to complete because the Council obtained funds from the Special Compensation Fund”.

      In addition, Dawodharry’s signature “appears on the cheques by which funds were removed from trust accounts”.

      Moreover, the signature of one of two other authorized signatories was on the cheques.

      The two other authorized signatories were referred to as a “husband” and a “licensee and associate broker” with 6th Avenue Elite Realty. Details were blacked out.

      Aside from a 25-year prohibition, Dawodharry was also ordered to pay a penalty of $10,000. She was likewise directed to pay enforcement expenses of $25,000.

      If Dawodharry wants to become a realtor again, she must complete a course called Ethics in Business Practice before she is deemed eligible to apply for a licence.

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