Starbroker is guilty of creating bogus offers

Real estate broker Christine Girouard, one of the stars of the real estate series “Numéros 1” presented on CASA, was found guilty of creating a fraudulent scheme to make false purchase offers on houses.

• Also Read: Bogus offers: Two real estate brokers suspended

The Disciplinary Committee of the Self-Regulation of Real Estate Brokerage of Quebec (OACIQ) on Tuesday Ms. Girouard and her spouse, real estate broker Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, announced that they had obtained guilty verdicts.

According to the OACIQ summary, Mr. Dauphinais-Fortin, Ms. At Girouard's request, false offers to purchase houses were submitted to encourage potential buyers to increase the amount they were willing to pay to purchase their dream property.

“By using a fraudulent scheme for the benefit of their seller clients, Christine Girouard and Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin not only caused buyers to pay more for the property than they intended, but they seriously damaged the overall image and reputation of the profession,” commented Caroline Champagne, OACIQ Vice President of Supervision.

The two brokers, whose licenses were already suspended last June, are to return before the disciplinary committee on a yet-to-be-determined date. They also face fines of up to $50,000, an extension of their suspension, or the outright revocation of their license.

“Such a decision is considered exemplary because it reminds us of the importance of a real estate broker never placing himself in a conflict of interest,” emphasized Mr. Champagne.