Mortgage brokerage accused of bypassing licensing rules and deceiving vulnerable clients
Ontario’s financial services regulator is moving to revoke the licence of Flex Home Loans and penalize its owner following findings of unlicensed mortgage lending and misleading disclosures.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has initiated enforcement action against the company and its sole director Michael Yosher, alleging breaches of the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, 2006. The regulator contends the company and Yosher failed to meet legal and ethical standards required to administer mortgages in the province.
According to FSRA, Flex Home Loans extended 244 mortgage loans totaling over $7.6 million between 2020 and 2021 without holding a mortgage brokerage licence or being exempt from licensing requirements. The loans were issued directly to members of the public, bypassing the oversight and borrower protections provided under the Act.
“Flex Home Loans directly lent funds for the 244 mortgages. It did not act through a licensed mortgage brokerage or exempt intermediary,” FSRA said. “The director is satisfied that Flex Home Loans contravened subsection 4(2) of the Act by carrying on business as a mortgage lender in Ontario while not being licensed or exempt.”
The regulator also found that Yosher submitted false or misleading information in his 2022 and 2023 licence renewal applications by failing to disclose that he was a defendant in several civil proceedings, some of which were mortgage-related.
Ongoing complaints
Despite licensing issues, Flex Home Loans reported in its March 31, 2025 Annual Information Report that it continues to administer 52 mortgages worth a total of $1.61 million on behalf of 19 investors, as of the end of 2024.
Yosher was licensed as a mortgage agent under the Act from December 22, 2009, to March 31, 2024. Flex Home Loans has held a mortgage administrator licence since March 10, 2021.
Among the 244 mortgages issued, one involved a complaint from two vulnerable senior citizens, referred to as ND and WD, who filed with FSRA in April 2024. In that case, the seniors believed they were consolidating home service equipment rental payments when they were allegedly misled into signing a mortgage for $30,999.85, which was then transferred to investors and administered by Flex Home Loans.
Yosher confirmed that the company had acted as a “direct lender” for the ND/WD mortgage.
Compliance order, penalties
FSRA has proposed a compliance order that would require Flex Home Loans and Yosher to end their mortgage lending activities, notify current investors of the impending licence revocation, and either assist investors in securing a new mortgage administrator or facilitate the self-administration of their investments.
Read next: Ontario principal brokers – here's what FSRA wants you to know about your responsibilities
FSRA also seeks to revoke Flex Home Loans’ mortgage administrator licence 31 days after the compliance order takes effect and to impose an administrative penalty of $10,000 against Yosher.
The regulator said Flex Home Loans and Yosher have requested a hearing before the Financial Services Tribunal in response to the proposed order.
The move arrifes amid a continuing crackdown by FSRA on improper mortgage brokering and lending conduct within Ontario. Last month, its head of financial institutions and mortgage brokerage conduct Antoinette Leung reiterated to CMP that it's keeping a key focus on emphasizing that principal brokers are ultimately responsible for the conduct of their employees, and underlined its expectations for brokers and lenders across the province.
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