Man denied broker’s licence after calling Real Estate Council of B.C. CEO a friend of Harvey Weinstein

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      The Real Estate Council of B.C. has determined that the behaviour of a man applying for a licence “went beyond mere rudeness”.

      As an example, he accused the CEO of the council, Erin Seeley, of being a friend of disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

      Weinstein was convicted in 2020 for rape and sexual assault, and was sentenced to 23 years in jail.

      Because of the person’s conduct, the RECBC denied his application to renew his broker’s licence.

      The individual, whose name was redacted before publication of reasons for decision by a qualification hearing committee, will also not be allowed to apply for the next three years.

      There were a number of reasons why the committee concluded that the man is “not of good reputation and not suitable to be licensed”.

      One of these is his “unprofessional” and “disrespectful” communications with RECBC staff.

      “On multiple occasions, [the Applicant] was requested by the RECBC to limit his communications to the individual RECBC staff member with conduct of his matter,” the hearing committee noted in its reasons for decision.

      Yet, “on repeated occasions, [the Applicant] blatantly disregarded these demands and proceeded to email numerous other RECBC staff members, ultimately requiring the RECBC to take the extraordinary step of blocking [the Applicant]’s emails to RECBC staff other than its legal counsel”.

      The council did so “as his communications with RECBC staff exhibited serious concerns in respect of his judgment, civility, temperament, and professionalism”.

      For example, on January 21, 2020, the man was advised not to contact certain people with the council.

      “Nevertheless, just days later at 1:06 and 3:53 am on January 23, 2020 and on January 25, 2020, in direct violation of the RECBC’s request, [the Applicant] sent a series of emails to the RECBC’s CEO and other staff with irrelevant accusations, including among other things, accusing the CEO of being the ‘Worst CEO in History’ and stating, ‘Harvey Weinstein? These are [the CEO]’s friends…’,” the document related.

      In his January 23, 2020 email at 1:06 a.m., the man wrote “Harvey Weinstein + Enron + Uber = E. Seeley (Worst CEO in History)”.

      Also, the applicant wrote: “I will start public protests starting March 2 outisde [sic] CP Pacific Center [sic]. The sign will read RECBC (with logo) Seeley #1billionstolen #fraud #rape””.

      Also, the man’s communications with the council “regularly contained irrelevant, and potent displays of incivility that went beyond mere rudeness”.

      “His remarks were at times shocking for a professional setting,” the qualification committee noted.

      For example, in a May 10, 2018 email to the RECBC’s legal counsel, the man called her a “piece of shit”.

      The qualification committee also found issues with the man’s bookkeeping and record-keeping in the previous years that he was a real-estate broker.

      The committee also had concerns about his conduct in relation to criminal charges that were brought against him, although these were stayed.

      In August 2020, the B.C. Financial Services Authority announced that its integration with the RECBC and B.C.’s Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate was officially complete.

      Seeley is currently a vice president with the BCFSA. 

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