Mortgage industry couple allegedly arranged dozens of unauthorized loans
Ontario’s financial services regulator has launched enforcement action against mortgage agents Tracy and Nino Scimeca, accusing the couple of running an unauthorized mortgage operation that arranged dozens of deals outside their licensed brokerages and funneled nearly $200,000 in undisclosed fees through shell corporations.
Tracy Scimeca, whose mortgage agent licence expired in March 2023, brokered 64 private second mortgages between 2020 and 2023 through a third-party brokerage, MIC Financial, despite not being authorized to work with them, according to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA).
FSRA claims Scimeca arranged these deals outside of her licensed brokerage, Crown Eight Capital Inc., in direct violation of Ontario’s Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, 2006.
While Tracy acted as the borrowers’ main point of contact, collected personal and financial information, and negotiated terms, the files were processed through MIC Financial by broker Roberto Mammone. In exchange, she allegedly received over $192,000 in fees, more than $125,000 of which was funneled through her husband, Nino Scimeca, or his companies, 1634744 Ontario Inc. and 10731862 Canada Inc.
Undisclosed funds and deceptive documents
FSRA’s investigation said the Scimecas also issued promissory notes to help borrowers cover down payments and closing costs—despite primary lenders explicitly prohibiting secondary financing. Tracy allegedly instructed at least one borrower to submit a false gift letter to a first lender, hiding the true source of the down payment funds, which were actually loans issued by the Scimeca companies.
The regulator alleged that Tracy failed to disclose the source of the funds or any potential conflicts of interest, and in some cases, she and Nino collected interest payments on the loans. Once the first mortgages closed, Tracy reportedly arranged a second private mortgage, often through MIC Financial, to repay the promissory notes, compounding borrowers’ debt loads. According to FSRA, some of those borrowers were left in serious financial distress.
FSRA also alleges Tracy continued dealing in mortgages after her licence expired, further violating the Act. Correspondence from a lender in October 2024 confirmed she was still engaging in mortgage activity in Ontario.
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Though not directly brokering the deals, Nino Scimeca, whose licence expired in March 2024, allegedly facilitated the activity by routing mortgage fees and loan funds through the companies he controls. FSRA alleges that he knew or ought to have known he was enabling dishonest or illegal conduct and that his role violated section 3.1 of Ontario Regulation 187/08.
Cease-and-desist order
As part of its enforcement proposal, FSRA is seeking $200,000 in administrative penalties against Tracy Scimeca (in two separate fines), a $50,000 penalty against Nino Scimeca, and a compliance order prohibiting Tracy from dealing or trading in mortgages in Ontario.
Both Tracy and Nino Scimeca have requested a hearing before the Financial Services Tribunal.
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