California Title Rep Banned for Life Following First American’s $1M Fine

Title marketing representative Eugene Bleecker agreed to surrender his certificate of registration to market title insurance and accept a permanent ban on seeking another license from the California Department of Insurance to resolve an accusation against him.

The CDI in April alleged that Bleecker, a former employee of First American Title Co., consistently violated anti-inducement laws through his improper influence over a networking group that provided benefits to real estate agents.

Earlier this year, First American agreed to pay the CDI more than $1 million for its role in failing to supervise Bleecker’s involvement with the networking group.

The department’s investigation reportedly found that Bleecker was inappropriately enmeshed in a 600-plus-member strong real estate networking group called the Advisory Group Real Estate Network, with chapters in the Santa Clarita, Antelope, and San Fernando Valleys. Bleecker was the only title marketing representative in the group, and provided direction on everything from who would speak at meetings to what events the group would hold.

The investigation also reportedly found that group members received benefits including custom video marketing, a tour bus caravan to view and promote listings, social media training, and sales coaching. The benefits, which created the possibility of a quid-pro-quo relationship with Bleecker due to his influence over the group, were in violation of state law that protects consumers from conflicts of interest in title insurance referrals that can inflate the cost of real estate transactions.

As part of the surrender of his license, which takes effect on April 1, 2022, Bleecker did not admit to the allegations in the accusation.

Topics California