Realtors rally at Queen’s Park to demand full commission payments after iPro Realty scandal

Dozens of realtors who are owed thousands of dollars gathered at Queen’s Park Tuesday in hopes the provincial government will hear their plea for full compensation after one of Ontario’s largest real estate brokerages shut down.   

iPro Realty was forced to shut down in August after an inspection revealed a serious shortfall in its trust accounts containing clients’ money and agents’ commission funds.  

Broker Jimmy Ghimery told The Leader Spirit he lost more than $200,000. 

“Christmas was not the best … payments, mortgages are falling behind,” said Ghimery. 

“Who suffers the most? My family. And this is not how I want to start my year.” 

The total losses are estimated to be approximately $30 million dollars, affecting 2,400 agents. 

Many of the realtors tell The Leader Spirit they feel betrayed by the regulator of the industry, the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) for failing to properly protect them.  

“This regulator is supposed to ensure something like this never ever happens and yet still it’s done all under the watch of the government,” said another realtor, Tom Rakocevic. 

The Ford government took control of the province’s real estate regulator after an audit found issues with its practices and organizational culture. 

The audit looked into complaints about RECO’s handling of iPro Realty. 

Among audit findings was that iPro told RECO its trust accounts had a $10-million shortfall in May, but the registrar did not freeze or monitor its accounts for nearly three months. 

An administrator, Jean Lépine, was appointed to oversee operations. Payouts to agents affected by iPro closure began in December, but as of now, agents will only receive about 50 per cent of the money they are owed.  

Outside the provincial legislature Tuesday, they demanded 100 per cent compensation. 

The largest regulatory failure possibly in the history of this province is nothing short of a crisis in this case. So, the government needs to take every single possible option, put it on the table and do it,” said Rakocevic. 

In an open letter posted Tuesday, Lépine said, “Prorated payment offers were issued on approximately 700 claim forms … Of these, payments have already been made on 200. A total of 1,500 of 2,650 claim forms have been processed. “ 

The Office of the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement tells The Leader Spirit that the administrator is working with RECO to move towards full compensation. 

The OPP has launched an investigation into this incident back in September, but no further updates have been provided. 

With files from The Canadian Press