Alongside the licence refusal, FSRA imposed $15,000 in administrative penalties
Ontario’s mortgage industry watchdog has barred a former mortgage agent from the province’s broker market after a regulatory tribunal found him responsible for three separate contraventions, including allowing himself to be used to facilitate dishonesty.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has refused to renew the licence of Raouf Ghadrdoust, who held a Level 1 mortgage agent licence from July 1, 2008, until March 31, 2023.
Alongside the licence refusal, FSRA imposed $15,000 in administrative penalties, following an order signed on October 14, by Troy Harrison, Acting Director of Litigation and Enforcement, by delegated authority from FSRA’s chief executive officer.
The Financial Services Tribunal held an electronic hearing across three days in June, concluding that Ghadrdoust had contravened the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act, 2006 (MBLAA).
Its Reasons for Decision, dated October 1, directed FSRA’s chief executive to implement the proposed penalties and licence refusal in full.
Three violations behind the decision
The Tribunal identified three distinct contraventions. Ghadrdoust was found to have dealt in mortgages for remuneration outside his licensed brokerage, in breach of section 2(3) of the MBLAA.
He also received remuneration from a person other than his registered brokerage, contrary to section 4(1) of Ontario Regulation 187/08.
The third and most serious finding was that he allowed himself to be used to facilitate dishonesty, in violation of section 3.1 of the same regulation.
Ghadrdoust applied to renew his licence on March 24, 2023. A Notice of Proposal to refuse that renewal was issued on September 3, 2024, with the resulting Tribunal hearing upholding the regulator’s position in its entirety.
Under the October order, Ghadrdoust must pay the $15,000 penalty within 30 days, or the debt becomes enforceable as an order of the Superior Court of Justice.
Brokers weigh in on rising enforcement standards
The case arrives as FSRA has sharply escalated its enforcement posture across Ontario’s mortgage sector.
The regulator’s first-ever annual enforcement report, released earlier this year amid a broader surge in mortgage industry penalties, revealed that mortgage-related sanctions in 2025 totalled approximately $860,000 – a roughly 50% increase over the prior year.
Two of the three contraventions – dealing outside a licensed brokerage and accepting fees from a non-registered party – mirror the provisions at the centre of FSRA’s February action against former agent Shan Jamal.
He received $20,000 in penalties for arranging multiple off-book mortgage deals and routing payments through other entities to avoid detection.
The “facilitating dishonesty” finding under section 3.1 of Ontario Regulation 187/08 has also appeared in a significantly larger case: FSRA fined former agent Lin Liang $275,000 after she brokered 15 deals connected to an alleged fraud scheme, with the Tribunal finding she ought to have known she was being used to facilitate dishonesty, the same standard applied against Ghadrdoust.
For many established brokers, the trajectory is long overdue. Joe Sammut, broker of record at Mortgage Architects – A Better Way in Ontario, told Canadian Mortgage Professional the crackdown marked a meaningful shift in how the regulator views the profession.
“I’ve seen more cases against bad actors in the last 12 to 18 months than in previous years,” Sammut said.
“They seem to be clamping down and cleaning up, and they’re making sure the fines they’re enacting on people are publicized.”
Carmen Costa, principal broker and owner at TCG Lending Centres in Ontario, echoed the view that tougher oversight ultimately serves the industry’s best interests.
“Mortgage brokers deal with complex products that can have long-term financial consequences for consumers, so strong oversight is important,” she told CMP in an interview on Ontario’s regulatory landscape.
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