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A Winnipeg real estate agent had his license suspended and was fined for concealing the defects in a home prior to its sale and then lying to investigators about his actions.

CBC News reported Mahmood Peyawary bought a home in the Westdale section of Winnipeg in March 2019 and flipped it three months later. However, he did not inform his buyers that the property had significant foundation cracks. The new owners discovered the problem after moving it and complained the major cracks were “recently filled with spray foam” while other cracks were hidden behind drywall and wooden studs.

The new owners also found other issues with the property including improper installation of electrical wiring, animal feces on the basement ceiling, a leak in one of the bathrooms, problems with floor tiling in the kitchen and dining room and an unpaid $1,400 water bill.

Peyawary, a Royal LePage agent who was both the seller and listing agent on the property, was brought before the Manitoba Securities Commission and falsely told investigators that he was unaware of the depth of the problems, claiming the basement was completely finished when he acquired it except for a crack in the laundry room. However, the investigators interviewed Kyle Scrimshaw, another Royal LePage agent who was hired by Peyawary for “basic labor work” during the home’s renovations, and under examination he admitted to seeing Peyawary “gluing drywall directly” onto a wall of the foundation.

Peyawary acknowledged his dishonesty to the investigators, and the Commission suspended his license to sell homes for two-and-a-half years and ordered him to pay nearly $35,000 to the buyers. For assisting Peyawary, Scrimshaw had his license suspended for a year and was fined $500.