MAC Marketing's version of 'Where's Waldo'?

Remember the MAC Marketing crossword puzzle? We made a post about it back on June 11th, 2013.

Hilarity ensued over in the comments section of one of Vancouver's leading real estate chat sites when Vancouver Condo Info advised that the infamous MAC Marketing Solutions (you remember them... the condo marketing firm exposed for lying to and deceiving the public on TV) had come out with a Vancouver real estate-themed crossword puzzle contest to celebrate their 50th contributing article to the publication New Condo Guide.

The post generated a slew of responses on VCI, most making suggestions for MAC about potential crossword clues and answers:

One VCI contributor even crafted his own version of the crossword.

Well now MAC Marketing seems to have another game for us to play. MAC's 2013 holiday greeting is out and it not only reminds us of their summer time crossword puzzle, but also of the famous  "Where's Waldo" puzzles. 

Simply add numbers to this gallery of MAC personalities and we can play "where are the 2013 MAC scandal employees." 

(click on image to enlarge):

In case you have forgotten who those employees are, let's recap. First there is the infamous 'Chris Lee'.

Chris is fake name for the MAC Marketing sales assistant who, along with MAC administrative assistant Amanda Lee, presented themselves as house-hunting sisters to CBC-TV and CTV-BC.  Here is a screenshot of 'Chris' from the CBC story:

After the scandal we noted she was still working for MAC. Can you spot her in the MAC holiday greeting?

Next there is Amanda Lee:

Here is a CTV screenshot of Amanda next to one of Amanda Lee's Facebook photos (which initially caused us to question the whole deception): 

'Chris' and Amanda claimed they are primary scouting for a condo in advance of their parents arrival from China for the Lunar New Year.  Supposedly their parents were coming to help them purchase a condo.

Once exposed, CTV pulled no punches in capturing the essence of their story in one shot:

In addition to Chris and Amanda, there was also the older blonde MAC sales rep who quarterbacked the fake condo buying sisters through the Maddox sales centre for the TV deception. Here is a screenshot from the CBC story:

Is she in the MAC holiday greeting?

Let's not forget the MAC sales director who possibly set up the photo shoot, Melanie Briggs. CBC-TV reporter Matthew Black advises Briggs was supposed to be in attendance at the media spot but was a no-show. Was she involved in the pre-planning of this deception?

For bonus points you can hunt for Janet Frost, MAC Marketing's Director of Sales. In an unrelated episode, Frost was suspended for 21 days by the RECBC for misconduct while associated with Maverick Real Estate (see this post and this post).

You could also check to see if Sharon Matsumoto is there. Ms. Matsumoto was the subject of an April 15th, 2013 RECBC disciplinary decision. We posted about the decision and the fact that google showed numerous links between Ms. Matsumoto and MAC Marketing. Presumably she isn't currently with MAC, but who knows for sure?

Last, but not least, there is MAC Marketing President Cameron MacNeill:

In the Vancouver Sun McNeill stated:

“I don’t know all the details about what precisely happened that day. I want to get to the bottom of this. I don’t know if it was an overzealous employee or if this happened in a formalized way.”

All-in-all it looks like great holiday fun as you hunt for these seven leading 2013 MAC Marketing personalities. How many could you 'find'?

Hopefully 2014 will bring some results on the RECBC investigation into the scandal and we can find out answers to the questions McNeill himself asked. Because we're sure if all this happened in a formalized' way, condo buyers would want to know… especially if the employees involved in any 'formalized' deception are still active in selling real estate.

For those who may have missed it, here is the CBC coverage of the scandal:

 

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BC-CTV poll: Do you think a condo is a good investment in Metro Vancouver?

BC-CTV has a poll running tonight and the question is: Do you think a condo is a good investment in Metro Vancouver?  You can find it on their website here.

The poll is also running on their Facebook page. They say that your answer could be used during CTV News at 5:00pm tomorrow.

Naturally, since this is one of the networks employees from MAC Marketing Solutions used as a vehicle through which to lie to to the public about Asian demand for condos during Chinese New Year, the tie in is irresistible:

"If it were... marketing companies wouldn't go on your TV station and deceive vieweres about the demand for those condos from offshore Asians."

Feel free to share your thoughts with them too.

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Tuesday Post #1: Real Estate Crossword Puzzles

Hilarity ensued over in the comments section of one of Vancouver's leading real estate chat sites yesterday.

The first post of the day to Vancouver Condo Info advised that the infamous MAC Marketing Solutions (you remember them... the condo marketing firm exposed for lying to and deceiving the public on various Vancouver TV news stations) has come out with a Vancouver real estate-themed crossword puzzle contest to celebrate their 50th contributing article to the publication New Condo Guide.

New Condo Guide readers are invited to overlook the fact this marketing firm has very publicly deceived potential customers by being offered a chance to win a $50 Home Depot gift card if they succumb to this direct marketing ploy.

The post generated a slew of responses on VCI, most making suggestions for MAC about potential crossword clues and answers:

(click on images to enlarge)

But perhaps the best was submitted by VMD who crafted VCI's own version of a crossword (click on top image to enlarge or fill it out and solve online here).

There's no gift card to be won, but you will get an unbiased insight into the Vancouver Real Estate  scene with the answers.

And that's worth more than $50 bucks any day of the week. 

Besides, answering VCI's crossword won't trigger a slew of marketing pitches by the very liars we saw on TV, one of whom is apparently still selling real estate to those gullible enough to trust them.

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Who's policing dishonest BC Realtors?

Lots of disscusion in our posts (see here and here) about CTV-BC's coverage of realtor Marco Vincenzi's forging of signatures and altering documents.  Apparently this was done in order to increase his commission on the sale of a yaletown condo.

In their third instalment of their coverage, CTV-BC asks 'Who's policing dishonest BC Realtors?' It's a poignant question, particularly in light of the MAC Marketing scandal we covered earlier this year.

After admitting to altering documents and other improper behavior, MacKenzie’s realtor (Marco Vincenzi) was ordered to pay a $1,250 fine, take a remedial course. He was also suspended for 120 days. The council took 16 months to make its decision. Said MacKenzie:

"To see this long drawn out secretive real estate council process that finally resulted in something that I think is just a slap on the wrist is insulting and angers me. It calls into question for me the actual ability of the real estate council to do their job and their mandate and uphold the public interest, rather than giving the perception that they're protecting the realtors."

Bingo!

What is particularly frustrating is the fact that MacKenzie also went to the Vancouver Police Department, who declined to proceed with a criminal investigation. Her case was ultimately reviewed by the Financial Crime Unit which felt the situation was better handled through a regulatory process rather than a criminal one.

And we've just seen how effective that was.

Even more galling was the fact that Vincenzi was allowed to continue selling real estate after the complaints were filed.  In virtually any other professional field, an individual accused of misconduct is placed on some form of administrative leave until individual is cleared of wrongdoing... and with good reason.

If the accused individual is, in fact, committing fraudulent acts... are you really going to let that person carry on committing the same (or worse) offences against innocent/unwitting members of the public?

It brings to mind the liars from the MAC Marketing scandal, who just so happened to dupe CTV-BC,  Despite having committed specific violations of the Realtor Code of Ethics, the infamous 'Chris Lee' is still selling real estate as the RECBC supposedly investigates (see here and here).

As MacKenzie says, it all "calls into question the actual ability of the real estate council to do their job and their mandate and uphold the public interest, rather than giving the perception that they're protecting the realtors."

It's gratifying to see CTV-BC finally begin to look at these issues.  But more needs to be done.

We asked Lynda Steele of CTV-BC about the status of the MAC Marketing investigations.  Here is our twitter exchange (click to enlarge):

She says she thinks it's worth taking another look at. If you agree, let her know on twitter @CTVLyndaSteele or via email at Steeleonyourside@ctv.ca

Make your voice heard.

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Dishonest realtor's punishment questioned by victim - CTV BC

Meet Janet MacKenzie.

She's the condo buyer we told you about yesterday who made an offer on a Yaletown property that was listed with a reduced realtor's commission.

Her realtor, Marco Vincenzi, tried to make a deal behind her back that would compensate him for the money he stood to lose on that reduced commission. To accomplish this, he forged documents on MacKenzie's behalf that resulted in direct financial gain for himself.

When MacKenzie was made aware of what he was doing, she went to Vincenzi's real estate office in Coquitlam and demanded a meeting with his boss, Jason Watson. Watson insisted in a recorded conversation that Vincenzi’s days as a realtor were done.

"Ultimately by the end of the day, I can't say it will be tomorrow, but probably by Monday he won't have a license," said Jason Watson, managing broker at Sutton Group – West Coast Realty."

But rather than see MacKenzie take her concerns about Vincenzi to police for formal charges, CTV-BC reports that Janet Watson, the managing broker at Sutton Group - West Coast Realty, told MacKenzie not to call police.

Instead MacKenzie was urged to allow the Real Estate Council of BC (RECBC) to handle the matter. CTV-BC reports Mackenzie was assured the RECBC would see that Vincenzi would lose his license permanently.

In a ruling that surprises no one who follows this blog though, the RECBC didn't revoke Vincenzi's real estate license.

Vincenzi was found to have committed professional misconduct. The RECBC ordered him to pay $1,250, take a remedial course and gave him a measly 120 day suspension.

Vincenzi's explanations for his actions?

Vincenzi told the Real Estate Council he was in the running for a platinum award given to realtors who secure $100,000 in commissions for the year. The council's ruling says, "at the time of the transaction he had earned approximately $90,000 and he states that there was a lot of pressure of him to put him over the $100,000 threshold."

Vincenzi also told the council he was facing "a great deal of financial pressure" because of his upcoming wedding.

So Vincenzi claims he forged his client's documents because he's publicity hungry for a realtor award. There's also the small matter that hes desperate for cash to pay for a upcoming wedding... and this is justification not to ban him from selling real estate forever?

Says MacKenzie:

"The idea of saying, ‘well, because I was under financial pressure, that's okay, somehow makes this okay,’ it doesn't. It's not acceptable. Knowing right from wrong is kind of a basic principle."

No kidding.

It's the same basic principle that doesn't excuse one from going on TV to lie to about Asian buyers  during Chinese New Year.

These are the actions of a few that tarnish and destroy the reputations of an entire industry.  Why is the RECBC even tolerating this behaviour?

What rankles even more is that Vincenzi's suspension doesn’t kick in until June and it appears the Metro Vancouver realtor is still in business, accepting calls on a current listing from a CTV intern posing as a potential customer. 

CTV-BC consumer reporter Lynda Steele went to Sutton Realty in Coquitlam to see what Vincenzi's boss, Jason Watson, had to say about his employee's professional misconduct, but she was told Watson was in a meeting and not available.

It reminds us of the liars from the MAC Marketing Solutions scandal who are still out selling real estate while under investigation for their transgressions. Does the RECBC not appreciate the optics of their inaction?

CTV-BC says they are airing a third part to this story tomorrow.

For the sake of the public at large, and the industry as a whole, let's hope they continue to pursue this issue.

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Janet Frost RECBC Suspension Update

In our last post we told you how Janet Frost, MAC Marketing's Director of Sales, had been suspended for 21 days by the Real Estate Council of BC (RECBC), a ruling that was released last week.

Frost has been with MAC for eleven years according to her LinkedIn profile, first as a sales associate and then as Director of Sales. It's an employment career with MAC that has spanned eleven years from 2002-2013.

During that time, however, she also spent a year with Maverick Real Estate Ltd in 2006-2007 - apparently working two jobs at the same time. The RECBC suspension cites the infractions as occurring when Frost was licensed with Maverick. 

In our last post we asked, incredulously, if this suspension could really be for actions from five years ago when Frost was listed as being with Maverick (2006/2007) and whether Frost was working with MAC, Maverick or both.

Today we were contacted from one of the buyers who launched the RECBC complaint:

I am one of the buyers that contacted the RECBC in regards to this deal. There are several of us that lost a lot of money on this deal as the developer went bankrupt and under Alberta laws, $30K of the deposit is released to the developer which we all lost.

This buyer tells us Frost was working for Maverick Real Estate at the time of the infractions and not MAC Marketing (even though Frost's LinkedIn profile states she was a sales associate with MAC during this time period).

If we get further details, we'll update you.

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Former MAC Marketing sales manager disciplined by RECBC. Was she working for (or with) MAC at the time?

Meet Sharon Matsumoto.

Ms. Matsumoto was the subject of a recent Real Estate Council of British Columbia (RECBC) disciplinary decision.

According to the RECBC, Sharon Tomoko Matsumoto - currently unlicensed - entered into a Consent Order with the Council that, while licensed as a representative with Multiple Realty Ltd., Vancouver, she committed professional misconduct within the meaning of section 35(1)(a) of the Real Estate Services Act in that she:

• (a) contravened section 7(3)(a) of the Real Estate Services Act in that she was employed as a sales manager with, and provided real estate services in that capacity for, a developer, all of which real estate services were provided to the developer separate and apart from the brokerage; and
• (b) contravened section 7(3)(b) of the Real Estate Services Act in that she accepted, independent of the brokerage, remuneration paid to her directly from the developer, in relation to the real estate services provided to the developer.

The RECBC ruled that she: (a) be reprimanded; (b) successfully complete the Real Estate Trading Services Remedial Education Course; and (c) pay enforcement expenses to the Council in the amount of $1,250.00.

Not being too familiar with the legalese here, we note the passage that says while she was a representative of Multiple Realty Ltd she committed professional misconduct by being "employed as a sales manager with, and provided real estate services in that capacity for, a developer, all of which real estate services were provided to the developer separate and apart from the brokerage"

And that she "accepted, independent of the brokerage, remuneration paid to her directly from the developer, in relation to the real estate services provided to the developer."

What exactly does that mean? 

It seems to suggest while she was working for Multiple Realty Ltd., she was also working as a sales manager selling real estate for someone else - for a developer.

It's the term 'sales manager' that caught our eye. Faithful readers will recognize that as one of the titles from the players in the MAC Marketing fiasco back in February. Naturally we felt compelled to googled the terms "Sharon Matsumoto" and "MAC Marketing Solutions." 

Guess what comes up?

Click on that google link that says 'Sharon Matsumoto of MAC Marketing Solutions Inc is a REALTOR' and you are taken to a real estate agent data base that lists Matsumoto and the address for MAC Marketing Solutions:

Hmmm....

What does LinkedIn tell us:

Matsumoto is listed as Sales Manager for Ledingham McAllister, a developer, and has worked for them since January 2012 to present. She also just happens to have been a Sales Manager for MAC Marketing Solutions from 2007 to 2009.

Okay... so maybe the real estate data base simply contains out-of-date data. Maybe she used to work for MAC but now works for the developer.

Curiously when you do a google search. you come across a number projects in which Ledingham McAllister and MAC Marketing Solutions are listed together, projects like Aviara in Burnaby:

You have to wonder... if it's a Ledingham McAllister development that's the centre of the RECBC disciplinary decision, you don't suppose it's one that MAC was also marketing do you?

If so was Matsumoto indirectly working for MAC Marketing when this breach of conduct was committed? Was she leading the MAC sales team at the development?

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So what's the status of the RECBC investigation into MAC Marketing's media manipulation stunt?

Yesterday we told you how it appears the infamous 'Chris Lee' has resurfaced as a sales agent at another MAC Marketing project: MThree in Coquitlam.

'Chris Lee' is fake name for the MAC Marketing sales assistant who, along with MAC administrative assistant Amanda Lee, presented themselves as house-hunting sisters to CBC-TV and CTV-BC. They claimed their parents would be in town from China for the Lunar New Year to help them purchase a condo.

It was, as we now know, an orchestrated lie undertaken by a number of MAC Marketing employees to deceive the media and the public.

There are still many unanswered questions about what happened that day.  All the public was ever told about the fiasco was this Facebook posting by MAC Marketing Solutions president Cameron McNeill...

...that and a short email sent out to media outlets by MAC. When he received a copy of that email, CBC-TV reporter Matthew Black tweeted:

In an email to CBC, MAC Marketing owner Cameron McNeill writes he implemented "appropriate actions" vs employees who duped media and that he accepted the resignation of a "MAC senior manager." But, McNeill won't comment on specifics, citing privacy concerns. Statement from MAC Marketing doesn't elaborate on what "decisive actions" it took, or who was fired/resigned after duping media.

It's disconcerting because there were a number of MAC Marketing employees involved in the whole media sham and no one knows the actual extent of their roles. 

In addition to the fictitious 'Chris Lee' there was her 'sister' Amanda Lee:

there was Nic Jensen:

there was the MAC sales rep who quarterbacked the fake couple through the display suite to deceive the TV cameras:

and, finally there was the MAC sales director who possibly set up the photo shoot, Melanie Briggs. CBC-TV reporter Matthew Black advises Briggs was supposed to be in attendance at the media op but was a no-show. Was she involved in the pre-planning of this deception?

All the players in attendance before the TV cameras that day purposefully lied to and deceived the media/public.  This raises huge questions about their character and ability to carry out their jobs in the real estate industry. According to the British Columbia edition of the Canadian Real Estate Association's Realtor Code of Ethics:

The REALTOR® Code of Ethics of The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is universally recognized by real estate professionals and consumers alike as the measure of professionalism in real estate. The REALTOR® Code is intended to define the high standard of performance the public has a right to expect from those licensed to display the REALTOR® trademark.

As REALTORS®, we accept a personal obligation to the public and to our profession. The Code of Ethics of The Canadian Real Estate Association embodies these obligations.

As REALTORS®, we are committed to:

• Professional competent service
• Absolute honesty and integrity in business dealings

• Co-operation with and fairness to all

• Personal accountability through compliance with CREA's Standards of Business Practice

To meet their obligations, REALTORS® pledge to observe the spirit of the Code in all of their activities and conduct their business in accordance with the Standards of Business Practice and the Golden Rule — Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Article 15: Advertising Claims

Claims or offerings in Advertising must be accurate, clear and understandable.

The actions of all the MAC employees at the media op that day were in clear violation of the real estate industry's Code of Ethics.  They blatantly acted to deceive the media/public. Based on this how can the public have faith or confidence in future real estate transactions with them?

When the story about MAC's deceptions originally broke, the Real Estate Council of BC (RECBC) announced that they were investigating MAC Marketing for false/misleading advertising for which  MAC faced fines of up to $20,000 and the individuals involved faced having their licences to sell real estate suspended.

So what's the status of that investigation? CBC-TV reporter Matthew Black tells us that he:

"wrote RECBC last week and was told their investigation is still ongoing. They couldn't say when it would conclude saying it depends on 'the volume of complaints' being looked into and 'how involved' the investigation needs to be."

Which brings us back to the promotional photo which shows MAC's sales team for the upcoming MThree development in Coquitlam. The photo caption doesn't list names but it sure looks like the sales team includes the MAC employee we know as the fictitious 'Chris Lee' and MAC sales director Melanie Briggs:

If this is actually 'Chris Lee', how can she be allowed to return to work while under investigation by the RECBC?

And what of Melanie Briggs?  We still don't know the extent of her involvement, if any, in this debacle.

MAC Marketing president Cameron McNeill has declined to hold a press conference to fully explain what transpired in this fiasco. Because of that the public still has numerous unanswered questions.

In any other field, employees would be placed on administrative leave while under investigation for breaches of a code of conduct.  Apparently this standard doesn't exist in the real estate industry.

Doesn't the public have a right to know if they may be dealing with RECBC members who are under investigation for misleading the public, especially when they may be purchasing thousands of dollars of real estate from them?

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