RECO refers former chair to discipline committee over alleged trust account failures

(Katie Steinfeld/On the Block Realty)

Ontario’s regulator has referred former chair Katie Steinfeld and her brokerage, On the Block Realty Inc., to its discipline committee over alleged trust account failures.

Steinfeld, broker of record and president of the brokerage, is accused of failing to review and sign trust account reconciliations on time and failing to ensure the brokerage met its trust account, reconciliation and reporting obligations under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002, according to notices posted on the Real Estate Council of Ontario’s (RECO) website Aug. 5.

The notice against On the Block Realty adds allegations of failing to prepare trust account reconciliations on time, commingling and improperly disbursing trust funds, failing to report shortfalls, and failing to comply with trust account and record-keeping requirements. RECO has not disclosed a shortfall amount, and no hearing date has been set.

Steinfeld chaired RECO’s board from May 2023 until she and the rest of the board were fired in December 2025, following the fallout from the iPro Realty scandal.

She co-founded On the Block Realty with her husband, Daniel Steinfeld, who is also listed as a broker at the brokerage. Daniel is the 2026 president of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

(Daniel Steinfeld/On the Block Realty)

The Steinfelds respond

The Steinfelds, who have both contributed to REM in the past, provided a statement over email. The incidents cited by RECO, they said, involved money that was “deposited inadvertently and temporarily in the wrong account,” and they maintained that “there was never a dollar missing or misappropriated. Clients’ funds were never in jeopardy. Agents’ funds were never missing.”

The discrepancies, they said, ranged from $442 to $7,000, were caught through the brokerage’s monthly reconciliation process, and were “proactively rectified by On the Block Realty.” Of the largest amount, they said “the mistake was discovered immediately and the money moved to the correct account within 24 hours.”

The Steinfelds acknowledged missing the required deadlines to prepare, review and sign reconciliation statements, saying they were “a few days late” in some cases and “a few weeks” in others — but that “the reconciliation statements were always completed.”

“Mistakes were made and that’s on us,” they said. “We fixed them ourselves and no client or agent suffered any monetary loss.” They added: “If a human mistake is made, we fix it and try to learn from it so that it is not repeated.”

TRREB points to its policies

Asked whether TRREB was aware of the referral and planned to take any action, CEO John DiMichele said in a statement that the board “is aware of this regulatory proceeding and has established governance and conflict-of-interest policies and protocols that guide the organization in matters of this nature. TRREB takes its governance responsibilities seriously and remains focused on its mandate and on serving its Members. Given RECO’s jurisdiction over this matter, it would be inappropriate for TRREB to comment further.” TRREB had not shared those conflict-of-interest policies with REM by deadline

RECO’s media office responded with a statement from spokesperson Tess Lin, who said the regulator “cannot comment on active compliance matters.” Lin said the committee is responsible for scheduling and holding the hearing, and that its decision will be made public once it’s reached.

Ontario’s regulator remains under the authority of administrator Jean Lépine. His final public report is due Dec. 31, 2026.

The post RECO refers former chair to discipline committee over alleged trust account failures appeared first on REM.