The British Columbia Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) has ordered Charles Funaro and his companies 0643025 B.C. Ltd. and CAD Investments Ltd. to pay a joint administrative penalty of $30,000 for conducting business as a mortgage broker or submortgage broker without being registered to handle those duties.
BCFSA determined that Funaro was not registered under the Mortgage Brokers Act (MBA) but nonetheless carried out 34 mortgage transactions between 2017 and 2021, including the lending of funds to his clients. Funaro initially claimed he was not aware that loaning his own funds constituted unregistered mortgage activities under the MBA, although an investigation found Funaro was warned about the potential need for registration in July 2020.
Funaro and his companies will also be required to pay $3,500 to cover the regulator’s investigation costs.