Last week, the mug shot of Kevin Tomlinson, former vice president of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, found its way into news feeds after the prominent Miami real estate executive was arrested for allegedly extorting well-known real estate team The Jills. Soon after being released by authorities, Tomlinson was quickly hired by Calibre International Realty, where he now works as a broker associate.
“Kevin contacted me,” Calibre Broker Julian Johnston, who’s known Tomlinson for more than a decade, told Miami Agent magazine. “I offered my support, because in this country you are innocent until you have your day in court.” He added that as a real estate professional, Tomlinson has a strong sales record and a “very good reputation.”
Johnston went on to say that his decision hinged partly on his insight into the case, citing, without specificity, an inside knowledge of facts yet to be disclosed to the public. When pressed, Johnston said he could not offer further comment while the case was ongoing.
When asked if he’d be willing to serve as a character witness for his new broker associate in any future hearing, Johnston responded simply, “yes.”
It was a rumored complaint to the Miami Association of Realtors that initiated the turn of events in April in which Tomlinson allegedly accused The Jills of manipulating the MLS. As of yet, MIAMI has released no news regarding any complaint.
In response to an information request, MIAMI spokesperson Lynda Fernandez told Miami Agent magazine, “Ethics and professional standards complaints and processes are strictly confidential as mandated in the NAR procedures. We cannot confirm or deny the existence of a complaint.”
However, in an interview with The Real Deal, Tomlinson stated:
“All the properties listed in the MLS that were manipulated by the Jills were actively for sale at the time, and the number is significant. In 2014 alone, 30 active listings were manipulated, amounting to more than $228 million. There was a total of 353 data manipulations for an average of 11.76 manipulations per listing, according to findings in the MLS records.”
In a statement to TRD, Bruce Rubin, spokesperson for The Jills, denied the allegations of tampering and said that any issues with the MLS were “absolutely unintentional,” and further claimed that all the affected listings were expired.