The British Columbia Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) issued administrative penalties against four B.C. real estate licensees for publishing, or allowing the publication of, false and misleading advertising about their services and credentials on social media and websites. BCFSA found the advertising was not current, accurate, and verifiable as required under the Real Estate Services Act. Craig Veroni and Craig Veroni Personal Real Estate Corporation were ordered to pay CAD 6,250, including an additional CAD 3,250 for taking 13 days to fix some advertising, after multiple platforms failed to show required brokerage and licensee-name information and “award winning” claims lacked supporting particulars. Derek Gillette was ordered to pay CAD 4,000 for a series of unqualified “number one,” ranking, award, and transaction-volume statements on his website and social media. Sarmad Mehrbod and Sam Mehrbod Personal Real Estate Corporation were ordered to pay CAD 6,000 for “Top 1%” and “REBGV Medallion Club” claims without qualifying information and for referencing being part of a team when he was not registered with one. Xin Bo (Angela) Guo was ordered to pay CAD 4,000 for unqualified “President Club” and “Top 1%” claims; BCFSA held the licensee responsible even though the statements were published by brokerage staff. BCFSA pointed to its Advertising Guidelines for real estate professionals and a Consumer Fact Sheet on misleading real estate advertising.

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