Ontario’s FSRA fines and restricts principal broker after uncovering false information in licence applications and AIRs
Ontario’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) has slapped ZK Financial Inc. with a two-month suspension of its mortgage brokerage licence and fined its principal broker, Renkai Lin, $6,000, after concluding that Lin provided false or misleading information to the regulator’s CEO.
The watchdog imposed a $6,000 administrative penalty on Lin and placed a condition on his mortgage broker licence. The enforcement orders were issued as part of a settlement reached between FSRA, Lin, and ZK Financial.
According to FSRA, Lin violated subsection 45(1) of the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, 2006 by giving inaccurate information to the regulator both for himself and on behalf of the brokerage.
Lin has been licensed since 2018 (licence no. M18000659) and has served as the principal broker and sole corporate director of ZK Financial since the firm’s mortgage brokerage licence was issued on Jan. 19, 2021. The company was federally incorporated on Oct. 15, 2020.
FSRA found that Lin failed to disclose criminal charges in both individual mortgage agent licence applications submitted on February 2, 2023, and Mar. 5, 2024. In each case, he falsely answered “no” to the required disclosure question:
“Have you ever pleaded guilty or been found guilty of an offence under any law in any province, territory, state or country or are you currently the subject of any charges?”
FSRA records show that Lin was charged under the Criminal Code of Canada on June 29, 2022, and first appeared in court on Aug. 5, 2022.
In certifying his licence applications, Lin had attested that he understood “providing false, misleading or incomplete information may be sufficient grounds to reject the application.”
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FSRA also cited Lin for making false declarations in two consecutive Annual Information Returns (AIRs) filed on behalf of ZK Financial — one due Mar. 31, 2023, covering calendar year 2022, and another due Mar. 31, 2024, covering 2023.
These returns ask, “During the reporting period, was the brokerage or any of its Directors, Officers or Partners subject to any charges laid under the laws of any Canadian province / territory?”
Despite his pending criminal case, Lin again answered “no.” Before submitting each AIR, he affirmed that he knew it was an offence to mislead the FSRA CEO and that the information was “true to the best of his information and belief.”
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