Former Calgary Realtor Eric Drinkwater, who is charged with $1.9-million in alleged fraud, is facing a potential lifetime cancellation of his licence after a regulatory hearing on Thursday.~
Drinkwater appeared in a virtual disciplinary hearing held by the Real Estate Council of Alberta, where he agreed to a laundry list of illicit activities that amounted to a significant Ponzi scheme affecting 71 confirmed victims, and maybe dozens more, an investigation found.
Given the extraordinary nature of Drinkwater’s actions, RECA’s office of the registrar did not make a specific argument for sanction, and is leaving the decision to the independent panel.
However, RECA’s lawyer, Andrew Bone, said the registrar has submitted a precedent case that supports a lifetime ban to aid in the panel’s decision.
Drinkwater’s licence has been suspended since June 2024.
“Conduct on this scale is unprecedented for a RECA hearing,” said Bone. “Drinkwater has participated in serious and extensive fraud over the course of his dealings. The nature of this breach is extremely serious.”
The panel can take up to 60 days to provide its written decision. Once it is provided to the parties, it will be made public after the 30-day appeal period.
Drinkwater’s admissions
The scheme is believed to have occurred between March 2020 and February 2024.
During the hearing, Drinkwater admitted to falsifying bridge loans for non-existent real estate transactions that he claimed were taking place through his former employer, Re/Max Central.
In reality, no such transactions existed, and the documents he provided to support the scheme were forgeries.
A Realtor of 19 years, Drinkwater admitted to targeting past real estate clients and fellow Realtors, in addition to members of the public.
“The mandate of RECA includes to protect against, investigate, detect or suppressing fraud. Drinkwater’s conduct strikes at the heart of this mandate,” said Bone.
Drinkwater was charged by Calgary police on May 8 with one count of fraud over $5,000. Police reported 16 victims came forward to police with a combined loss of more than $1.9-million. Drinkwater is scheduled to appear in criminal court next month.
On Mar. 3, Loberg Ector LLP announced it had secured a judgment against Drinkwater in a civil lawsuit filed by four plaintiffs. The court awarded $2.28-million in losses, $185,000 in interest, and $1-million in punitive damages.
Drinkwater claims he didn’t profit
Drinkwater admitted that the total amount invested in the scheme totalled $3.5-million.
His statement of agreed facts states that $1.1-million was used to repay debts related to the scheme, and a small amount was used for personal expenses.
“I provided all my bank statements to the Calgary Police Services. They verified that I did not profit off this in any way,” said Drinkwater, adding that during this period, he could “barely pay for groceries.”
Drinkwater said the sheer number of people who gave him large sums of money did so because they trusted him and believed in his reputation as a Realtor.
“I had that much trust, and I didn’t deserve it, obviously,” he said.
He said he betrayed “a lot” of his colleagues with his actions.
“I’m going to have a harder time making up those relationships, and I’d like to apologize to all of them,” he said.
Bone noted that the majority of outstanding funds remain outstanding.
“Beyond the loss of money itself, Drinkwater’s victims also face significant stress and anxiety when their funds were misappropriated,” said Bone.
Maintaining public confidence
Bone said an example must be made of Drinkwater.
“The need for deterrence is significant. A clear message must be sent to members of the public and licensees that fraudulent schemes will not be tolerated and will carry significant sanctions.”
Courtney Zwicker is a digital reporter and associate editor for REM. Based in Atlantic Canada, she has over a decade of experience covering daily business news.