Realtor double ended and commited fraud?

[David P.]

Here are the details. I been in escrow for the last 5 months on a duplex in Los Angeles where I used the listing agent to represent me. I wanted the units delivered vacant and the realtor expressed to me that the seller would only be able to do that if I came up with Cash for keys incentive money. I agreed to the terms and offered to compensate the sellers at end of escrow for $5k that would of been used for the cash for keys agreement.

Now here is the part where the realtor got busted. I knew the tenants name and I found a post on the Nextdoor Website from the tenant basically asking for advice because he received a bounce check for their security deposit from the realtor and was asking for advice on what to do.  I contacted the tenant over phone and we talked over a hour and he never once heard of a cash for keys offer. All he expected back was his security deposit when he moved out. I therefore contacted the 2nd tenant and she told me the same thing that no cash for keys were ever mentioned. Basically the seller did not want to return the security deposit money and the realtor came up with the idea of hustling it out of me calling it cash for keys. I approached the realtor afterwards about this and she admitted she lied because that is what she said was required to get the deal done. She said the sellers are going through a court order sale and had no money to provide up front. She has now agreed to pay out of her own pocket the security deposit money to each tenant to move out and I no longer need to pay any of it.

As you can imagine I have a hard time trusting her and I still have all my contingencies. I am getting a good deal on the property so I would like to see it through. My question is can the realtor get in trouble if i report all this to her broker? The tenants can vounch for all the details and the cash for keys was specifically written in detail in the addedums. In my eyes she basically did a whole lot of unethical things

1. Lied to client

2. Mishandled clients money

3. Extorted money from buyer that was not his responsibility.

4. Gave tenants a bounced check.

[Charlie MacPherson]

@David P. Unless there's something that I'm missing, the Realtor should start looking for another job.  At best, this is fraud.  I'm sure there are other charges that could be filed too.

If you want to proceed with a complaint - and I would - start gathering proof.  Emails, contemporaneous notes, the Nextdoor correspondence, etc.  I'd also ask the tenants to write a very brief and simple statement describing the situation and have it notarized as an affidavit (also called a Jurat). 

That is a statement that is sworn under the pains and penalties of perjury, which should be admissible in court.  Around here, banks have free notaries.  Here's a link to an Affidavit Certificate: https://notary.cdn.sos.ca.gov/...  This can be filled out either as part of the affidavit or as a separate document and stapled to the original.  Be sure that both pages are stamped with the notary's seal.

I would then contact your state's Department of Real Estate (https://dre.ca.gov/) and file a complaint. You might also consider complaints to the CA Atty. General and to the local Board of Real Estate (the local extension of NAR).

This is a person who should not be entrusted with other people's money.  [BLEEP] her for giving honest Realtors a bad name.

BTW, if she acted as a Dual Agent without disclosing that fact in writing, that's another major violation that the Department of Real Estate would be very interested to hear about.

And another thing - I don't know about the details of the bounced check, but it makes me wonder if she's intermingling client funds with her own.  That's a nuclear disaster level violation and the fastest way to get your license yanked.

PS - this is one reason (of many) why buyers should be represented by a buyer's broker.