A Circleville real estate course provider was charged with three counts of knowingly providing false documentation to the Superintendent of Real Estate. John McKenzie is charged with providing fraudulent documents which certified that real estate licensees had successfully completed 30 hours of continuing education coursework.

Superintendent of Real Estate Ronald J. Rotaru filed these complaints against McKenzie with Columbus City Prosecutor Rob Levering in Franklin County Municipal Court on June 18. A hearing has been set for July 17, 1997 at 9 a.m. in Franklin County Municipal Court for McKenzie's plea to these charges.

“The Ohio Division of Real Estate is not going to permit fraudulent activity in the real estate continuing education process," Superintendent Rotaru said. "In order to protect the public in real estate transactions, we are committed to ensuring that every licensee complete their education requirements as required by law."

McKenzie is the owner of Ohio Real Estate Academy in Circleville and is a real estate salesperson with Scioto Valley Realty, Inc. in Circleville. He has been offering real estate education courses since the early 1980's. In addition to the criminal proceedings, the Division of Real Estate will be filing charges against McKenzie for real estate license law violations.

During an investigation by the Division, it was discovered that McKenzie offered documentation certifying coursework completion without requiring the licensee to attend the scheduled hours of the courses. State law requires that the course provider certify that the licensee attend at least 90% of the curriculum hours. A Division investigator stopped in to audit the classes and repeatedly did not find the instructor or the attendees at the scheduled courses.

To maintain a real estate license, licensees are required to submit proof to the Division indicating that they have completed 30 hours of continuing education coursework during their most recent three-year period.

If McKenzie is found guilty of the fraud charges, the licensees who enrolled in his courses will not be credited with their completion, Superintendent Rotaru said.

Two years ago, similar charges were filed against Edward C. Guilfoyle, a real estate course provider in Cincinnati. Guilfoyle pled no contest and was found guilty of three counts of making false statements to a public official.

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