TIMOTHY GEORGE DOWD (Winston-Salem) – The Commission accepted the voluntary surrender of the broker license of Mr. Dowd effective May 22, 2019. Mr. Dowd may not reapply for five years. The Commission dismissed without prejudice allegations that Mr. Dowd violated provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules. Mr. Dowd neither admitted nor denied misconduct.
MARLIES GREEN (Fayetteville) – By Consent, the Commission permanently revoked the broker license of Ms. Green effective May 22, 2019. The Commission found that Ms. Green, qualifying broker and broker-in-charge with a management agreement for a residential property, moved into the property as a tenant. Ms. Green failed to pay rent in a timely manner to the owner, caused extensive damage to the premises, and was eventually evicted. Ms. Green failed to return deposits to the property owner. Ms. Green failed to remit rental proceeds to other owner clients, failed to pay vendors for work performed on properties managed by her firm, and failed to return a tenant security deposit to a tenant within thirty days of lease termination. When Ms. Green finally did remit the deposit to the tenant, the bank returned the check due to insufficient funds. The tenant has still not received the deposit. Ms. Green has refused to communicate with property owners, vendors, tenants, and Commission staff and failed to update Commission records with her new address and that of the firm.
PAUL ROBERT JONES (Wilmington) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Mr. Jones for a period of 26 months effective May 9, 2019. The Commission then stayed the suspension for a probationary period from May 9, 2019 through July 9, 2021. The Commission found that Mr. Jones timely reported his July 9, 2018, conviction for felonious Possession With Intent to Sell and Deliver a schedule VI controlled substance. Mr. Jones was sentenced to 6-17 months of imprisonment, which was suspended for a 36-month period of supervised probation. Mr. Jones may be transferred to unsupervised probation for the last six months if he remains in compliance with probation.
DEBRA THOMAS PARSONS (Rockingham) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Ms. Parsons effective May 22, 2019. The Commission found that Ms. Parsons, broker-in-charge and qualifying broker, reported that a former bookkeeper had embezzled funds from her property management firms. The employee was a licensed broker who later surrendered her real estate license to the Commission and signed a Confession of Judgment in District Court. The majority of funds embezzled belonged to Ms. Parson’s firms although some were funds held in trust for others. An initial review of Ms. Parson’s trust accounts found that the firm did not perform three-way monthly reconciliations and left unreconciled deposits dating back years on the books. Since the audit, Ms. Parsons has brought the firm’s trust accounts into compliance with Commission rules. The Commission notes that Ms. Parsons and her staff have taken the Commission’s Basic Trust Account course and hired a vendor to assist with the management software.
PREFERRED PROPERTIES OF NC LLC (Rockingham) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Preferred Properties of NC effective May 22, 2019. The Commission found that the broker-in-charge and qualifying broker of Preferred Properties of NC reported that a former bookkeeper had embezzled funds from the firm’s trust accounts. The employee was a licensed broker who later surrendered her real estate license to the Commission and signed a Confession of Judgment in District Court. The majority of the funds embezzled belonged to the firm although some were funds held in trust for others. An initial review of the firm’s trust accounts found that did not perform three-way monthly reconciliations and left unreconciled deposits dating back years on the books. Since the audit, the firm has brought its trust accounts into compliance with Commission rules. The Commission notes that firm’s staff has taken the Commission’s Basic Trust Account course and the firm has hired a vendor to assist with the management software.
PREFERRED RENTALS OF NC LLC (Rockingham) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Preferred Rentals of NC effective May 22, 2019. The Commission found that the broker-in-charge and qualifying broker of Preferred Rentals of NC reported that a former bookkeeper had embezzled funds from the firm’s trust accounts. The employee was a licensed broker who later surrendered her real estate license to the Commission and signed a Confession of Judgment in District Court. The majority of the funds embezzled belonged to the firm although some were funds held in trust for others. An initial review of the firm’s trust accounts found that the firm did not perform three-way monthly reconciliations and left unreconciled deposits dating back years on the books. Since the audit, the firm has brought its trust accounts into compliance with Commission rules. The Commission notes that firm’s staff has taken the Commission’s Basic Trust Account course and the firm has hired a vendor to assist with the management software.
QUALITY HOMES PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LLC (Fayetteville) – By Consent, the Commission permanently revoked the firm license of Quality Homes Property Management effective May 22, 2019. The Commission found that its qualifying broker and broker-in-charge had a management agreement for a residential property, moved into the property as a tenant, failed to make timely rent payments to the owner, and caused extensive damage to the premises. The owner evicted the broker who also failed to return deposits to the property owner. The firm failed to remit rental proceeds to other owners and failed to pay vendors for work performed on properties the firm managed. The firm also failed to return a tenant security deposit to a tenant within thirty days of lease termination. When the firm issued a check to the tenant, the bank returned the check due to insufficient funds. The tenant has still not received the deposit. The firm has refused to communicate with property owners, vendors, tenants, and Commission staff and failed to update Commission address records for the broker and firm.
MARK JOSEPH VOLAK (Mooresville) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the broker license of Mr. Volak for a period of one year effective December 1, 2018. Six months of the suspension were active with the remainder stayed for a probationary period from June 1, 2019 to December 1, 2020. The Commission also ordered that Mr. Volak shall be ineligible to act as a Broker-in-Charge until November 1, 2023. The Commission found that Mr. Volak, who held a contractor’s license in addition to a broker license, contracted in December 2014 to build a home for a client but failed to complete construction of the project, leaving materials and a rented dumpster on the site. As a result, liens were filed by various vendors against his client for more than $65,000 despite Mr. Volak’s having collected more than $182,000 in draws and other payments. Mr. Volak permanently surrendered the broker license of his construction firm in a 2016 disciplinary action based on a prior construction project. Mr. Volak continued to pay vendors after termination of the construction contract in the present complaint.