Owner of Shop Your Own Mortgage hit with suspension order: BCFSA

Owner of Shop Your Own Mortgage hit with suspension order: BCFSA
CHEK

Greg Martel and My Mortgage Auction Corp. have been suspended from conducting any mortgage broker activity by the BC Financial Services Authority.

The announcement was made Wednesday after the Crown regulatory agency said it had evidence that Martel and his business, Shop Your Own Mortgage, had “conducted business in a manner prejudicial to the public interest.”

The BCFSA goes on to say that the suspension was made on an urgent basis due to a significant risk posed to the public by Martel and SYOM.

The decision was made to prevent any potential harm that could arise if Martel continued to provide mortgage broker services.

In part of the court document, the BCFSA says it “takes the position on this application that Mr. Martel and SYOM have demonstrated a lack of sufficient honesty, integrity, and professionalism to be considered suitable for registration pursuant to section 4 of the MBA.”

Martel’s company went into receivership following a flurry of lawsuits amounting to $28 million.

Earlier in court this month, the receiver’s request for more information went unanswered.

The report noted that Martel had refused to respond to the receiver’s numerous requests for information and had failed to provide a list of assets as required by the courts.

In response, a letter from Martel’s lawyer included in the report said that Martel hasn’t been able to complete the list because he is out of the jurisdiction due to several death threats and threats of violence against his family.

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The BCFSA goes on to acknowledge in the suspension order that the claims made against Martel and SYOM have not yet been proven.

However, the suspension order will remain in place — until the lengthy investigation concludes.

Martel and SYOM are entitled to appeal these orders to the Financial Services Tribunal.

The next court date is scheduled for June 9, 2023.

RELATED: My Mortgage Auction investor fears she may have lost retirement savings

-with files from CHEK’s April Lawrence

Roger CollinsRoger Collins

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