'Staggering' reach of 'shadow' mortgage broker revealed as B.C. real estate agents lose licences

Jason Proctor · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 18, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

B.C.'s fiscal regulator has cancelled the licence of a existent property cause who utilized the services of a alleged 'shadow' owe broker to bargain a location utilizing fake fiscal statements a twelvemonth aft declaring a antagonistic yearly income of $459.

Molenia Golshani is 1 of 3 existent property agents stripped of their licences successful caller weeks for their dealings with Jay Kanth Chaudhary — a man who earned millions acting successful an unregistered capableness to unafraid mortgages for unqualified homebuyers with altered taxation and slope documents.

Golshani, Sayna Sadat Mirzadeh and Homayoun (Sam) Haji Karimloo person besides been fined tens of thousands of dollars arsenic portion of the 5 astir caller orders to look from a multi-year B.C. Financial Services Authority probe into much than 2 twelve manufacture professionals.

After years of referring to Chaudhary successful its decisions arsenic 'Individual 1,' the regulator has besides publically linked him to 19 of its completed files for the archetypal time in years arsenic portion of a alteration successful argumentation to summation transparency. Four much files are inactive nether investigation.

BCFSA manager of investigations Raheel Humayun told CBC the scope of Chaudhary's unregistered activities was "staggering" — arsenic was the fig of licensed owe brokers and existent property agents who violated ethical and nonrecreational codes to assistance him.

'Remarkably forthright' testimony

Like Golshani, Karimloo referred clients to Chaudhary successful summation to utilizing the shadiness broker's services for his ain spot purchases successful deals secured with tax documents reflecting income aggregate times supra Karimloo's actual declared earnings.

According to a consent order, Mirzadeh got a owe successful 2017 utilizing fraudulent taxation documents created by Chaudhary and an exertion submitted by Mana Erfani — Chaudhary's wife — a erstwhile owe broker who was herself banned from the assemblage for beingness successful 2020.

The regulator has been investigating Chaudhary and his associates since astatine least 2019 when helium was ordered to cease and desist from acting arsenic a submortgage broker — utilizing licensed professionals to beforehand his unregistered activity.

Chaudhary spoke firsthand astir his achromatic marketplace concern successful 2021 astatine a public enquiry tasked with investigating wealth laundering successful British Columbia, delivering what the Cullen Commission study described arsenic "remarkably forthright" testimony.

He worked arsenic an accountant and was besides licensed arsenic a existent property cause earlier registering arsenic a owe broker successful January 2007. 

His registration was suspended successful October 2008 aft a co-worker reported that helium had been arranging financing utilizing altered documents. Chaudhary ne'er applied for reinstatement.

'There ever volition beryllium a need'

Chaudhary told the Cullen Commission helium developed a word-of-mouth estimation arsenic idiosyncratic who could put mortgages for radical who could spend to marque payments but who mightiness not conscionable an institutional lender's qualifications.

He said helium helped clients debar the unsafe satellite of backstage lenders by using the services of 4 registered owe brokers and astir 20 existent property agents who referred customers, telling the committee helium advised them of the risks involved.

Chaudhary claimed nary of his clients ever defaulted connected a loan, nary of the banks who gave them wealth were ever hurt, and a booming B.C. existent property marketplace meant helium was ever busy.

He is estimated to person secured much than fractional a cardinal dollars worthy of financing for astir 900 people.

"In reality, I don't deliberation it tin beryllium prevented," helium told the committee astatine 1 point.

"Because determination ever volition beryllium a request for individuals similar america and what we did, and due to the fact that the request itself is there. The request comes from the borrowers themselves. The request comes from radical who privation a location and do not acceptable successful the accepted guidelines."

Police referrals 'early and often'

The 5 astir caller Chaudhary-related orders besides see what amounts to a beingness prohibition and a $50,000 punishment against Shane Ballard, a erstwhile owe broker who admitted facilitating 165 owe applications for Chaudhary.

"Ballard would taxable owe applications to lenders arsenic though prepared by himself," Ballard's consent bid reads.

"Ballard ne'er met with the borrowers connected these files."

The bulk of the subject proceedings person been resolved done consent orders, but astatine slightest 1 existent property cause is appealing her licence cancellation.

According to the Cullen Commission's report, Chaudhary's lawsuit "illustrates the wealth laundering hazard that tin originate erstwhile an unscrupulous histrion engages successful owe brokering (registered oregon unregistered)."

His lawyer told the committee that Chaudhary was taxable to the scrutiny of the Canada Revenue Agency, but "he does not look to person faced immoderate different ineligible effect for his actions."

Humayun rejected the thought that nary 1 was wounded by Chaudhary's activities, pointing to the harm done to the estimation of the existent property manufacture arsenic a full and the hazard to some lenders and idiosyncratic consumers.

He confirmed that the B.C. Financial Services Authority made referrals to constabulary emerging from its Chaudhary-related files "early and often."

A typical for the regulator told the Cullen Commission, "he brought the Chaudhary record to the enactment of the RCMP's E-Division, but that the RCMP yet declined to instrumentality connected the matter."

"To his recollection, the crushed fixed was that the substance did not autumn wrong their mandate," the commission's study says.