Two unlicensed real estate brokers, who previously served jail time in Alberta for conducting unlicensed and illegal real estate deals, are now facing similar charges in British Columbia.
Derek Johnson and Kevin Kumar are each charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 for activities in the Kelowna area in 2015 and 2016.
The duo have a lengthy history of conducting fake real estate deals in Alberta and were sentenced to two months in prison in 2016 for ignoring a court order to stop real estate brokering.
Johnson and Kumar are believed to have moved to British Columbia sometime around 2015.
Kelowna resident Shelli Cohen says she came into contact with Johnson and Kumar after she responded to advertisements placed on Kijiji.ca in 2015.
They basically called it creative real estate or creative financing, in which their goal was to find people who were selling their homes privately and connect them with buyers that could not qualify for conventional mortgages and then they would use investors that would facilitate a transaction,” Cohen said.
Cohen said at first she trained with Johnson and Kumar and eventually invested $12,500 in a home purchase brokered by the pair.
Cohen began to worry about her investment after she took a call from a man who informed her of the real estate brokers’ past dealings.
This August, Johnson and Kumar were charged with defrauding Cohen and another Kelowna area man.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
When contacted, Johnson’s lawyer said his client will likely plead not guilty to the charges.
CBC News was not able to reach Kevin Kumar, and it is not certain where he is residing.
Their next court date is in November.
Read the full story over at CBC News.
