Earlier this year, the CMRAO became aware of fraud charges laid against a condominium manager in connection with alleged financial losses exceeding $500,000 suffered by several condominium corporations in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. The individual has since been identified as Mr. Gavin Kendrick, a former licensed condominium manager with Millcreek Management Inc. The CMRAO is now aware that Mr. Kendrick was arrested by the Waterloo Regional Police Service and is facing the following charges:

• five counts of fraud over $5,000
• five counts of theft over $5,000

In March 2020, in response to numerous complaints about Millcreek Management Inc., the Registrar of the CMRAO became concerned about financial irregularities. The Registrar initiated an inspection and took the following interim regulatory actions:

• proposed to suspend Mr. Kendrick’s Transitional General Licence
• proposed to apply conditions to the Millcreek Management Inc.’s condominium provider licence, namely:
  • Millcreek Management Inc. shall not permit Gavin Kendrick to perform condominium management services to any condominium corporations on behalf of Millcreek.
  • Millcreek Management Inc. shall provide proof acceptable to the Registrar that for each condominium corporation for which it provides condominium management services, an appropriate representative of the condominium corporation has signing authority for financial documents and access to the corporation’s bank accounts.

Additionally, the Registrar notified Millcreek Management’s clients (approximately 50 condominium corporations in the Kitchener-Waterloo area) of the actions that had been taken by the CMRAO.

The actions imposed were interim measures while the CMRAO continued its inspection. Mr. Kendrick cancelled his license while the inspection was ongoing. Mr. Kendrick is no longer licensed to provide condominium management services.

After the initial actions proposed in March 2020, the CMRAO received new complaints against Mr. Kendrick and Millcreek Management and continued its inspection. In response to the complaints that the CMRAO had received, on April 22, 2021, the Registrar proposed to apply the following conditions on Millcreek Management’s licence, specifically:

• Millcreek shall not allow Gavin Kendrick to be an interested person or an associated person (as defined in sections 1(2) and 37(2) of the CMSA) in respect of Millcreek’s business as a condominium management provider. In particular, Millcreek shall not allow Gavin Kendrick to:
  • be an officer or director of Millcreek
  • have a beneficial interest in Millcreek’s activities
  • exercise control either directly or indirectly over Millcreek
  • provide financing either directly or indirectly to Millcreek’s activities
• Within one year of the date that this condition takes effect, Millcreek is required to comply with an inspection with an inspector appointed by the Registrar. In particular, the inspector shall inspect:
  • A random sample of monthly financial statements prepared by Millcreek and provided to Millcreek’s clients
  • The signing authority arrangements for a random sample of Millcreek’s clients
  • Millcreek’s written procedures for handling the transfer of client documents upon termination

Millcreek Management has appealed the Registrar’s proposal to apply these conditions, an ongoing matter that is currently being adjudicated before the Licence Appeal Tribunal.

The CMRAO takes complaints against its licensees seriously and takes appropriate action in the interest of consumer protection. Details about actions proposed and executed by the Registrar are publicly available on the CMRAO website in the Compliance section. Information about CMRAO licensees and the status of each licence (including conditions on a licence) is available in the Public Registry.