The Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) Investigator Resource Committee (IRC) has announced that Ron Lawson, investigations coordinator of the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA), has been selected as the 2009 recipient of the ARELLO® Investigator of the Year award.

In addition to the international distinction of being named as ARELLO's Investigator of the Year, Ron will be provided with an expense-paid trip to the ARELLO Investigator Workshop. The 2009 Workshop will be held September 1 to 4, 2009, in Little Rock, Arkansas, at which Ron will present his investigation to attendees.

Ron's award-winning investigation involved a sophisticated scheme in which a broker employed intricate and interwoven fraudulent devices to obtain possession of a property and later resell it at an inflated price. The scheme included agency misrepresentations, multiple instances of mortgage fraud, forgery and other means that were used to conceal the true value and ownership of the property, as well as the broker's profits.

Criteria used by the IRC's Award subcommittee include audit/investigative techniques, innovation, use of resources, jurisdictional violations discovered, complexity of case, documentation of evidence, interview skills, creativity, report writing skills and cooperation with law enforcement and/or other government agencies.

Ron joined RECA as an investigator in May 2003, took over the role of registrar in January 2006 and returned to investigations in January 2007. Prior to working for RECA, Ron enjoyed a 23-year career with the Winnipeg Police Service.

Congratulations Ron!

 

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