A former Ontario mortgage broker has agreed to pay a $40,000 fine after admitting to submitting false financial information on multiple mortgage applications, according to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA).
The regulator said Thursday it reached a settlement with Paramjeet Kaur, who held a broker’s licence with Trillium Mortgage Services Inc. until the licence expired on March 31, 2026. In interviews with the FSRA, Kaur admitted to knowingly providing false employment and income information to lenders on several mortgage applications, including one involving a low-income college student tied to a property in Hamilton, Ont.
The case came to light after the FSRA received a complaint in May 2024 from the resident, who noticed the registered mortgage amount was higher than what had been agreed upon. The following month, regulators issued a notice and compliance order against Kaur, Trillium’s principal broker Frank Manzo, and a third party identified as Vatsal Pareshkumar Khamar, also known as Vic Kumar.
How the Scheme Allegedly Worked
According to the FSRA, Kaur was first contacted by Khamar through an advertisement she had placed on Kijiji. The regulator said Khamar offered to refer prospective borrowers to Kaur, meeting with them himself to collect identification, financial documents, appraisals and purchase agreements, which were then allegedly forwarded to Kaur. She relied on Khamar to verify the borrowers’ identities and never met any of them in person, though she spoke with some by phone or video call, the FSRA said.
Khamar, who has never held a valid broker’s licence, is alleged to have referred at least seven groups of borrowers to Kaur. She then completed the mortgage applications, arranged for electronic signatures through Khamar, and submitted them to lenders through Trillium, regulators said.
The FSRA said Kaur did not pay Khamar directly and believed he was compensated by the borrowers themselves. Regulators also found that Kaur failed to carry out any suitability analysis for the borrowers, and that required file checklists and client risk profile forms under Trillium’s own policy manual were never completed.
Fines and Ongoing Proceedings
The FSRA estimates Kaur received $90,000 in commissions through the mortgage dealings, with Trillium itself receiving $11,000 in commissions. Regulators had initially sought an $85,000 fine against Kaur, which was reduced to $40,000 as part of the settlement. She was accused of facilitating dishonesty, fraud or illegal conduct, and of failing to ensure the mortgages she presented were suitable for borrowers.
Manzo faces a separate accusation of failing to ensure his brokerage and its agents complied with the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, with an individual fine of $25,000 proposed against him and a $60,000 fine against Trillium Mortgage Services. In July 2024, regulators sent Khamar a formal cease-and-desist letter over his unlicensed activity, followed by a public warning notice posted to the FSRA’s website the next month.
Manzo told CityNews he was in negotiations with the FSRA on a settlement and declined to comment further. Neither Kaur nor Khamar could be reached for comment.
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