The BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) recently found that former real estate agent Jake Singh Kanda committed professional misconduct when he did not inform provincial licensing authorities that he’d been charged with crimes.

British Columbia’s Real Estate Services Act requires licensees to notify the BCFSA’s superintendent of real estate in writing if they are charged with or convicted of an offense, and also to provide their managing broker with the notice.

The decision notes that Kanda didn’t partake in the BCFSA’s hearing process and has not been licensed under the Real Estate Act since February 2023.

34 charges involved, requested information ‘withheld, concealed, or refused to provide’

The decision posted on the regulator’s website includes nine charges from February 2019, 10 from January 2021 and nine from July 2021.

Six charges from October 2016 (before Kanda was a licensed real estate agent) were withdrawn, about which, in May 2021, he submitted “a false or misleading statement in writing in response to the Real Estate Council of British Columbia (RECBC)’s investigatory requests made April 7, 2021.”

Few charges were proven, and the 2019 and 2021 charges were similar, coming from the 2016 incidents.

The document also notes Kanda “withheld, concealed, or refused to provide” information requested by the RECBC and that, in May 2022, he “failed to promptly notify the superintendent in writing” after being convicted of two crimes: assault, and pointing a firearm at a person, both in October 2016.

The decision

After requests from investigators in April 2021, Kanda’s lawyer responded with a letter in May 2021 stating the charges were withdrawn “because they were false charges” and that the court decided to “drop the charges permanently, and no longer seek prosecution.” The decision notes this is false or misleading since Kanda and his lawyers would have known the case was still being appealed (about 15 days before their statement was made).

In February 2022, an investigator emailed Kanda’s lawyer, noting that the stay of proceedings for the 2019 charges had been set aside, and requesting an update and court documents for the 2016 charges. The same request had been made in July and September 2021. The update and documents were provided in August 2022, along with information for the 2019 and July 2021 charges. However, the decision notes there was “no explanation for the significant delay.”

The decision notes that prior to this, the BCFSA had not been provided any of the information or the November 2020 reasons for the stay of proceedings for the 2019 charges being granted, despite the April 2021 request.

The BCFSA concluded that Kanda was guilty of professional misconduct since he did not notify the superintendent or his managing broker of his charges and convictions.

Review the regulator’s decision in full here.