In Manitoba, the General Insurance Council of Manitoba has fined Riley Raymond James Davidson $500, and assessed partial costs in the amount of $500, after the former agent was terminated for conduct involving the mishandling of funds, fraud and misrepresentation.
First licensed in 2010, Davidson was terminated in October 2022 after his agency found multiple credits to Davidson’s personal credit card. A subsequent audit uncovered five instances where Davidson took money that was owed to consumers and applied the refund to his personal credit card using the agency’s point of sale machine.
To obtain the refunded amounts, Davidson made unauthorized changes to three customer policies, reportedly by lowering evaluations on multiple homes and rental properties and crediting his card with the refund. On two other occasions, he credited customer overpayment and cancellation refunds to his credit card.
In May 2023 Davidson submitted a license reinstatement application to the regulator saying he left the agency which fired him, to try a new career path. He also stated that there was a disagreement between himself and the ownership of the agency regarding his future within the company. When the council’s investigator told him about the allegations and asked the former agent to respond, no response was forthcoming.
“The former licensee made unauthorized changes to customers’ accounts with the sole intent to obtain money that did not belong to him. Manipulating customer accounts for personal financial gain not only breaches ethical and legal standards, it also undermines the fundamental trust customers place in licensed agents,” the decision in the case states. “Amending a policy without the consumer’s consent, with the intent to retain a refund to which one is not entitled, constitutes fraud and theft.”
