Ontario woman loses $85,000 after trying to refinance mortgage with unlicensed broker

An agency that protects consumers in Ontario is warning some companies are accepting mortgage funds, despite not being licensed to do so. Pat Foran reports.

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), an agency that protects consumers in Ontario, is warning prospective mortgage borrowers that there are some companies in the province who are accepting mortgage funds, even though they’re not licensed to do so.

One Ontario woman told CTV News she handed over $85,000 to a person who claimed they were a licensed mortgage broker. She had done it in an attempt to pay down her home, she said, but the cheque was cashed, the money went missing, and now she is on the verge of losing her family home.

“You got one job to do and you got paid to do and you didn’t fulfill that,” said Randee Solomon, of Scarborough.

Solomon told CTV News that her father was having health issues about two years ago and she fell behind on her mortgage payments. She decided to deposit $85,000 towards her home on her mortgage and found someone who said they could complete the transaction.

“The money didn’t go where it was supposed to go and that’s a lot of money,” she said.

Solomon said she gave the funds to a woman named Dianne Van Rossum. She thought Van Rossum was a mortgage broker, but when she contacted the FSRA, she was told Van Rossum was not licensed.

The $85,000 bank draft Solomon gave Van Rossum was cashed out and is now missing.

CTV News called and emailed Van Rossum for comment but had not received a response as of publication.

“When I found out the money didn’t go to the right place, I felt betrayed, I felt angry. I felt like she didn’t do the job she was paid to do,” Solomon said.

On Monday, the FSRA issued a statement warning consumers not to do business with Dianne Van Rossum (or Dianne Vanrossum), stating she is not licensed to conduct mortgage brokering in Ontario, and that she’s accepted funds but didn’t deposit them to process a mortgage.

The statement cautioned that anyone seeking mortgage advice or services need to make sure they’re dealing with a licensed professional.

“I would encourage consumers to ask a lot of questions of the mortgage brokers they are working with as mortgages are not easy products,” said Gina Stephens, director of mortgage broker conduct with FSRA.

Stephens said consumers can also check the FSRA’s website to make sure a mortgage broker is licensed to operate in Ontario.

“They can do that by putting in their name of their licence number or brokerage name,” she explained. “I would also check our enforcement database to make sure the brokerage doesn’t have any actions taken by FSRA against them.”

Solomon said the $85,000 was meant to help keep her home and without it, she is worried she could lose it.

“I’m mustering through. But the situation is the same, my home is up for foreclosure.”