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B.C. Realtor suspended after helping intern forge note about sick grandma

Vancouver real estate agent Jaideep Singh Puri has to pay fine, take ethics course
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A B.C. Realtor has been suspended for four months after helping an intern write a fake note saying his grandmother died so he could hand in a late assignment.

According to the decision from the Real Estate Council of B.C., the string of lies involving Vancouver-based agent Jaideep Singh Puri, 27, started back on July 3, 2016, after his intern, only named KB in the document, tried to hand in his homework a day late for a real estate course.

KB told the course administrator his grandmother had died, and that he had spent two days at the hospital by her side.

“I would not miss a submission date on purpose,” KB said to his teacher in an email, which was included in the decision.

But the administrator asked for proof, and that’s when KB turned to Puri for help.

“We gotta think on our toes and get creative,” KB said in a text exchange to Puri.

“[Maybe] a note just saying I was the one taking care of her meds prior,” KB wrote. “And legally they can’t ask anything because it’s confidentiality.”

“Or I can just tell them I couldn’t get a note and just take the L [loss] and do the course again.”

Puri said he could get a family member to write the doctor’s note.

“Perfect, bro,” KB wrote back.

A day later, Puri sent a mock doctor’s note, as well as genuine medical notes KB could use as a model.

“This note is to confirm that KB was attending to his ill grandmother mid- to late June 2016 who was a patient under my care. I cannot provide further comment without violating confidentiality of the patient and family. I understand this was a tough time for the family and KB’s personal and professional life may have been affected in a negative way,” the note read.

KB sent a version of this note to his course administrator on July 5. However, the administrator replied to say they had fact-checked the note.

“We are treating this situation as a forgery,” the administrator said.

In addition to his four-month suspension, Puri was ordered to pay $5,000 to the council, and take a course in ethics. He also cannot supervise any future interns or prospective licensees for two years.

KB was suspended indefinitely and will have to attend a suitability hearing if he tries to get a licence in the future.


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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