海角社区官网

Andrew Max, representing iPro Realty co-founders Rui Alves and Fedele Colucci at the hearing, unsuccessfully argued that RECO’s application for an order to freeze and trace millions of dollars in missing funds breached an undertaking its registrar had signed with his clients on Aug. 8 to “not take any further administrative action” against them after they diverted $10.5 million from their brokerage’s trust accounts.

Justice Black allowed Alves and Colucci up to 24 hours to specify the amount of funds they need set aside to cover living expenses and legal fees.

The order will show where homebuyers鈥� deposits, agent commissions and trust funds actually went and make sure money isn’t hidden, depleted or moved out of jurisdiction.听听

RECO sought for the order to cover听iPro Realty Ltd., its principals, and several related companies, which the regulator’s lawyer Arthur Hamilton of Denton’s described as Colucci and Alves’ “alter egos.”

The companies listed as respondents in the court application include: iPro Realty Ltd. (the registered brokerage, which was shuttered by RECO on Aug. 19),听iPro Realty Inc., IP Holding Realty Ltd., Hippo Holdings Corp., Sutton Group Professional Real Estate Services Inc., Alco Motors Ltd., and Alco Rent-A-Car Ltd.

Alves and/or Colucci are listed on provincial business registration records as directors for all of these companies.

Black’s order compels TD, Bank of Montreal, and National Bank to disclose records of all accounts, transactions and assets held by Alves, Colucci and their companies from January 2021 up to the date of the court order.听

Greg Weedon, a real estate litigator based in Toronto, represents a number of homeowners and agents affected by iPro Realty’s downfall. Some of his clients, he said, “have had their commissions frozen in trust indefinitely.”

“This is a textbook example of regulators using the most powerful civil remedies 鈥� Mareva injunctions, Norwich orders, and equitable tracing 鈥� to preserve and recover trust funds,” he said in an email to the Star.

“These tools can freeze assets worldwide and compel banks to produce full transaction records, revealing the ultimate recipients of millions in consumer deposits and trust funds. It underscores the seriousness of breaches of trust in the real estate sector, which the courts treat on par with allegations of fraud. This hearing is a reminder that when trust accounts are misused, the law has powerful tools to protect consumers and restore confidence in the market.”

Weedon said the stakes are significant.听

“We are not talking about a minor technical breach,” he said. “This involves millions of dollars in consumer deposits, registrants鈥� commissions, and trust funds. Those are the lifeblood of real estate transactions, and if they are not preserved, the fallout for consumers and the profession could be severe and permanent.”

RECO鈥檚 investigation of iPro Realty determined in May that co-founders Alves, a former RECO board member, and Colucci 鈥渋llegally disbursed鈥� $10.5 million from the brokerage鈥檚 consumer deposit and commission trust accounts. Three months later, RECO facilitated the transfer of 2,400 iPro employees in 17 offices across Greater 海角社区官网to iCloud Realty and struck a deal with co-founders that allowed both men to escape charges and fines.

Neither Alves nor Colucci have responded to requests for comment.

After mounting public pressure and backlash in RECO’s handling of the scandal, the regulator sought an emergency injunction from the province鈥檚 Superior Court on Sept. 11.

The injunction comes a few weeks after RECO announced in late August that it had hired Dentons Canada to conduct a forensic audit of iPro and the Ontario Provincial Police confirmed to the Star it is investigating the matter.

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