A real estate agent - recently found not guilty of forging the signatures of three other realtors - has reached a settlement with the Wyoming Real Estate Commission in which she agreed to surrender her real estate license.
The agent was found not guilty of forgery by a judge in January, but her actions still had consequences.
Disciplinary charges were filed against her by the Wyoming Real Estate Commission in two cases. Those charges were settled recently when the agent agreed to surrender her license. According to court documents, the agent "consents to the permanent surrender of her license and payment of a fine." Moreover, she will be prevented from "ever seeking any registration, permit, certificate or license from the Commission related to real estate activity." She was also fined $100, and her violations and penalties will be published in the Wyoming Real Estate newsletter.
The charges stem from two administrative complaints filed against her in 2023 with the Wyoming Real Estate Commission. The complaints alleged the defendant agent forged documents and was taking part in a "straw buyer" scheme. The complainant alleged the agent used a friend to pose as a buyer of a property when in reality the buyer was the agent.
In its investigation, the commission found that in October 2018, the agent executed a listing agreement with JP Morgan Chase Bank, the seller, for $110,400. One month later, the price was dropped to $103,500, according to court documents. A week after that, the agent authored a contract for the property listing a friend as the buyer for $96,600 in cash with $1,000 in earnest money. In April 2019, the agent sold the property for $180,000, after improvements were made. The friend later admitted she was a straw buyer for the agent, and paid the seller money given to her by the agent.
Through its investigation, the commission alleged that the agent made "substantial misrepresentation(s)" to the seller on the contract and failed to disclose to the seller an interest in the transaction, violating the Real Estate License Act in Wyoming state statute, according to court documents. "Local realtor surrenders real estate license after state investigation" www.gillettenewsrecord.com. (Feb. 17, 2025).
Commentary
When in doubt, real estate professionals must disclose.
Article 4 of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) standards gives guidance in this case.
Realtors® shall not acquire an interest in or buy … any real property without making their true position known to the owner or the owner's agent or broker. …
Standard of Practice 4-1
For the protection of all parties, the disclosures required by Article 4 shall be in writing and provided by Realtors® prior to the signing of any contract.
The NAR ethics standards require that if an agent wishes to buy the property listed by the agent's client, such can be done if written disclosure is made to the client before the contract is executed. It is not the sale itself that is prohibited; rather, it is the failure to disclose to the client a material fact related to the transaction, i.e., the agent's interest in the client's property. A material fact is a fact that, if known, might have caused a buyer or seller of real estate to make a different decision about remaining in a contract or to the price paid or received. In the case above, knowing the prospective buyer was, in fact, the alter ego of the agent is a material fact that might have caused the seller not to agree to the purchase.
Always obtain written disclosure acknowledgments in these situations.
