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The story mentions a disciplinary hearing with the Real Estate Council of British Columbia for a minor infraction and implies that I gave up my licence to avoid the hearing. That is not true. For more than a year, I had planned to retire my residential real estate license and move towards commercial real estate investments. On the advice of my lawyer, I spared the RECBC and myself the time and expense of a hearing which, at worst, would likely have resulted in a minor penalty.

More troubling are the hints of impropriety over an amount of cash I gave to a person posing as an auto broker to purchase a car for me in the U.S.; a man I did not know but who came highly recommended. I was a victim of fraud. I was told he had used his own money to buy the car and I was shown a forged bank wire confirmation.

I was lied to by the auto broker who apparently attempted to take the cash to Las Vegas. The money was seized by Canada Border Services agents in Vancouver because he had not declared the monies at the border. However, there was no suggestion of money laundering. I was not investigated by any authorities, and no charges were ever laid. I took court action to try to have the funds returned to me.

Other irrelevant details of my career were unfairly presented in the story as suspicious; I testified at an RECBC hearing of another agent; I had a dispute with a realty firm over commissions; I received expensive gifts from a boyfriend. These ordinary events, along with my hard work and success, are presented as suspicious in an attempt to sully my reputation.

I am proud of my accomplishments throughout my career. I have worked hard to help others, and have treated others with dignity and respect. The recent story in this paper does not reflect my character or my professional life.