Real Estate Licensee Reprimanded for Hateful Social Media Message

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Nima Alizadeh-Gharib must complete education at his own expense and pay enforcement expenses after he sent an antisemitic message on social media.

BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) has entered into a consent order with a real estate licensee after it found that he committed conduct unbecoming a licensee for sending an antisemitic social media message.

Nima Alizadeh-Gharib sent the message to a restaurant from his personal Instagram account. A restaurant representative said that he was able to access Alizadeh-Gharib’s personal account, despite not being an approved follower. His personal account also included content that identified him as a real estate professional in B.C. A complaint was subsequently made to BCFSA about Alizadeh-Gharib’s actions.

Alizadeh-Gharib has agreed to the following orders:

Reprimand
Register for, and successfully complete, a custom educational course provided by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, which includes four immersive workshops and all assignments, at his own expense
Pay $2,350 in enforcement expenses to BCFSA
Alizadeh-Gharib has apologized to the restaurant and is taking meaningful steps to educate himself and ensure it does not happen again.

“The licensee’s decision to send a hateful message is unacceptable and goes against the high standards of conduct that real estate licensees are held to,” said Jon Vandall, Senior Vice President of Financial Professionals at BCFSA. “This case is a stark reminder that your actions online can harm your reputation.”

BCFSA reminds all licensees that they are accountable and responsible for their behavior on social media. When using social media in a personal or professional context, licensees are representing the real estate industry and are expected to uphold the standards of conduct as set out in Section 35 of the Real Estate Services Act, as well as the Real Estate Services Rules. Learn more in our Social Media Conduct Guideline.