Ontario regulator hardens its stance on deceptive paperwork and suitability
Ontario’s financial services regulator has refused to renew the mortgage agent licence of Frank (Frankie) Attard and imposed $25,000 in administrative penalties, underscoring its intent to come down hard on deceptive documentation in the broker channel.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) said Attard contravened the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, 2006 by “giving false or deceptive information and documents when dealing in mortgages in Ontario,” providing “false or misleading information to FSRA,” and doing or omitting to do things that “might reasonably be expected to result in his brokerage failing to comply” with the law.
Attard’s conduct, FSRA concluded, gave “reasonable grounds to believe that he is not suitable to be licensed under the Act.”
Allegations centred on false information
According to FSRA, the case stemmed from a March 31, 2024 application to renew Attard’s mortgage agent licence M16001014. A Notice of Proposal issued on October 1, 2024 set out plans to refuse the renewal and levy five administrative penalties totalling $25,000, alleging that Attard supplied false or deceptive information and documents to FSRA and others in connection with a mortgage transaction and caused his brokerage to breach regulatory requirements.
Attard exercised his right to a hearing before the Financial Services Tribunal in October 2024. He later withdrew that request on February 17, 2026, and the Tribunal closed its file two days later.
With no hearing pending, the Director of Litigation and Enforcement, acting under delegated authority from FSRA’s chief executive, ordered on February 25, 2026 that the renewal be refused and the penalties imposed.
FSRA said it would invoice Attard for the penalties, which must be paid within 30 days unless another arrangement is agreed. If payment is not made, the order may be filed with the Superior Court of Justice and enforced as a court order. Any unpaid amount becomes “a debt due to the Crown and is enforceable as such.”
Part of a wider compliance push
The Attard decision followed FSRA’s November 2024 notice of proposal in the same matter, which alleged that his past conduct showed he would not deal or trade in mortgages “in accordance with the law and with integrity and honesty.”
The regulator also imposed $4,000 in administrative penalties on former mortgage agent Mai Anh (Cindy) Tran after finding she took an off-book payment from a client and submitted inaccurate information and documents in a private-lender application.
FSRA’s own guidance on detecting and preventing mortgage fraud has stressed that brokerages, brokers and agents must “take reasonable and legitimate steps to verify the documents provided by borrowers and lenders/investors and other parties to a transaction” and follow up on any potentially falsified documents.
What it means for experienced brokers
Industry voices have generally argued that tougher oversight is a necessary trade-off for consumer protection.
“Overall, I think Ontario’s regulatory framework is appropriate, and in many ways necessary,” broker–owner Carmen Costa recently told Canadian Mortgage Professional, while acknowledging that compliance demands has become more onerous.
With Ontario also reviewing the MBLAA and pushing ahead on new anti-fraud and anti–money laundering expectations, experienced practitioners are likely to see more files scrutinised not just for product suitability but for the accuracy of every piece of supporting documentation.
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