A $9,000 spending spree on a brokerage’s corporate credit card has landed an ex-broker a $5,000 fine and a three-year license suspension.
Danielle Bianca Dela Cruz was licensed as a Level 1 salesperson and an insurance coordinator for an unnamed brokerage, the Insurance Council of B.C. wrote in its discipline decision, released Jan. 13, 2025.
In June 2023, she moved into an administrative role and was allowed to make purchases on behalf of the brokerage using the corporate credit card.
“On or around Oct. 30, 2023, the agency discovered discrepancies in several receipts that the former licensee had scanned into the agency’s system,” the council found.
“Discrepancies were identified between the itemized purchases made on the company credit card and the total purchase price on the various receipts the former licensee had scanned into the agency system.
“The agency discovered that the dollar amounts of several scanned receipts were significantly lower than the total amount charged to the corporate credit card. For example, a receipt dated Aug. 4, 2023, showed a total of $122.98, but the receipt had been folded over, limiting the visibility of the purchase of a prepaid Visa card for $75. The agency had not authorized the former licensee to purchase a prepaid Visa card.
“Another receipt dated Sept. 1, 2023, showing a total of $147.31, was again folded over, limiting the visibility of the purchase of a prepaid Mastercard for $100. An additional receipt dated Sept. 14, 2023, showing a total of $185.28, had been folded over, limiting the visibility of the purchase of two prepaid Visa cards in the amounts of $100 and $50.”
After a more thorough investigation, the brokerage discovered 58 receipts dated between July 2023 and October 2023. In these receipts, the former broker had made purchases using the company credit card and folded the receipts before scanning them, thereby limiting the visibility of certain sections of the receipts, as the council’s investigation determined.
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Since the brokerage only had copies of the scanned folded receipts, it contacted the store where the purchases were made to locate the full copy of the receipts. The store was only able to provide 38 itemized descriptions, which accounted for four of the 58 receipts in question, the council observed.
In all, the former broker made purchases on the company credit card totalling $9,000, the brokerage determined.
The brokerage nominee emailed the council’s licensing department on Nov. 6, 2023, to advise Dela Cruz’s employment had been terminated due to misuse of the brokerage’s credit card.
One week later, on Nov. 13, Dela Cruz sent an apology email to the brokerage’s director of operations, admitting to making unauthorized charges on the corporate credit card.
“In the email, the former licensee admitted to having an issue with compulsive buying disorder and expressed regret for her actions,” the council’s decision reads. “The former licensee also stated that she wanted to repay the money but would require a payment plan to do so.”
As of September 2024, the former licensee had not paid back any of the money. She did not respond to any inquiries during the council’s investigation, the council’s decision states.
Feature image courtesy of iStock.com/Dmytro Skrypnykov
