Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
A real estate agent offer me a way to make money. He said it was legal but I don't know. He would give me a check to my name for finding clients. I would cash the check and give him the sum. He then would give me 10 percent. He said that I don't need to find clients because he would but he could not put the check at his name because he could not take the commission cause he works for the agency. And if he did not do this the money would stay with the office and his work of finding clients would not be rewarded. He said he is trying to make the most most money possible.
Is this legal?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Sounds as though you'd be participating in a scheme to defraud the broker, or the IRS, or both.
That would be a fraud on the broker that the agent works for. The broker could definitely sue you for three times all the money you get that way. There's a very good chance you would be charged with crimes too and face jail time.
Sounds like fraud, and you would risk being sued or arrested. The obvious answer is that if it sounds too good to be true, something for nothing, it is never true.