RE/MAX D’ICI terminated the contracts of Christine Girouard and Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin on Wednesday following an investigation by The Press which revealed that the two brokers had made bogus offers using relatives to create artificial bids. The Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec (OACIQ) has launched an investigation.
“Our entire network is shocked by such actions,” said RE/MAX Quebec management in an email statement. The brand “wants to underline the immediate handling of this file by the managers of the RE/MAX D’ICI agency”.
The information published by The Press also had the effect of triggering an investigation at the OACIQ.
“When we receive serious information of this nature, we open an investigation”, explains in an interview Me Caroline Champagne, vice-president, supervision of the OACIQ.
“This Wednesday, the person still had his license, except that there are ways to intervene quickly. In the most serious cases, we can make a request to the Disciplinary Committee for provisional striking off, ”continues Mr.e Caroline Champagne.
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Real estate brokers Christine Girouard and Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin
The OACIQ affirms that it will support the defrauded buyers and invites them to file a claim for compensation for fraud from the Real Estate Compensation Fund (FICI). The maximum financial compensation is $100,000.
Mackenson Latour and his wife Marie Magdala Azar learned from documents obtained by The Press that they had paid $40,000 too much for their house due to a scheme orchestrated by Mme Girouard and M. Dauphinais-Fortin.
If people have witnessed this type of scheme on the part of Mr.me Girouard or other brokers, the OACIQ encourages them to provide them with information. Everything is confidential, recalls the organization.
RE/MAX Quebec “intends to cooperate fully with the authorities in the context of any possible investigation,” said the brand.
“This case, I have never seen it, I have never heard of it, assures in an interview Marc Lacasse, broker and president of the Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers of Quebec (APCIQ). And I confirm it to you, there is no confidentiality agreement that would prevent me from calling the OACIQ and denouncing a colleague who does this. »
“We denounce these situations, because we work hard to maintain and improve the reputation of brokers,” underlines the president.
Making bogus offers violates section 380 of the Criminal Code. Those involved in the scheme could be charged with forgery and use of forgery, according to legal specialists consulted by The Press.
Are brokers aware that bogus offers are criminal? inquired The Press with the Association. ” I do not think so. I was the first to be surprised when I read your article,” explains Marc Lacasse, who points out that the APCIQ is currently circulating information to all of its members.
“It has become a Wild West”
Called to comment on the case, the three opposition parties in Quebec City highlighted the issue of access to property, which is exacerbated by the type of embezzlement brought to light by The Press.
“This is once again proof that with the context of the housing crisis not only in the rental sector, but also in the sector of access to property, it has become a Wild West, explains in an interview the MNA Andrés Fontecilla, housing spokesperson for Québec solidaire. Regulations and our current mechanisms are not enough to stop a speculative spiral that greatly affects the affordability of a property. »
Already in 2021, Québec solidaire had made the proposal to make purchase offers transparent to counter overbidding. Andrés Fontecilla indicates that removing the opacity that surrounds transactions would allow buyers to make informed offers. “Especially in the game of counter-offers, that’s where it’s played. »
“The actions of this real estate broker must necessarily encourage the government to act to better protect the population”, maintains for his part the deputy Joël Arseneau, spokesperson for the Parti québécois on housing.
“We can also wonder if this is an isolated fact, he continues. A diligent verification seems necessary to us to circumscribe the problem and prevent such abuses from happening again. Once again, we have a concrete example of the real impact on the population of the housing crisis. »
MNA Virginie Dufour, spokesperson for the Liberal Party of Quebec in matters of housing, affirms that she has already been informed of cases of bogus offers. However, the member is not sure that making transactions more transparent would help consumers see things more clearly.
“Even if the information was accessible, would it really be the real information? People who want to defraud would still find a way to defraud,” she maintains, specifying that the OACIQ must go beyond the revocation of the broker’s license and impose dissuasive financial penalties.