MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with Laurie Rose Lewis
TORONTO, Feb. 26, 2018 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Laurie Rose Lewis ("Respondent") was held on February 23, 2018 in Calgary, Alberta before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Prairie Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA").
The Hearing Panel accepted the settlement agreement ("Settlement Agreement") between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed on the Respondent:
- a fine in the amount of $20,000 ("Fine");
- costs in the amount of $2,500 ("Costs"); and
- payment of the Fine and Costs shall be made to and received by MFDA in certified funds as follows:
- $5,000 (Fine) upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement;
- $2,500 (Costs) upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement;
- $7,500 on or before the last business day of the 3rd month following the date of the acceptance of the Settlement Agreement;
- $7,500 on or before the last business day of the 6th month following the date of the acceptance of the Settlement Agreement;
- if the Respondent fails to make any of the installment payments described above:
- any outstanding balance of the Fine and Costs owed shall become immediately due and payable to the MFDA; and
- the Respondent shall be prohibited from conducting securities related business while in the employ of or associated with a Member of the MFDA until such time as the total amount outstanding of the Fine and Costs owed is paid to the MFDA; and
- in the future shall comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1.
In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:
| a) |
between November 2012 and April 2014, she altered and used to process transactions, three account forms in respect of three clients by altering information on the account forms without having the clients initial the alterations, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; |
| b) |
between August 2012 and January 2016, she altered information on 17 account forms that had been previously signed by ten clients and used in previous transactions in order to process new transactions in the clients' accounts, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and |
| c) |
between February 2013 and February 2016, she obtained, possessed, and in some instances, used to process transactions, 51 pre-signed account forms in respect of 24 clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1. |
A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca. During the period described in the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent carried on business in the Eckville, Alberta area.
The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its Members and their approximately 83,000 Approved Persons with a mandate to protect investors and the public interest. For more information about the MFDA's complaint and enforcement processes, as well as links to 'Check an Advisor' and other Investor Tools, visit the For Investors page on the MFDA website.
SOURCE Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada
Charles Toth, Director, Litigation, 416-943-4619, [email protected]; Mark Stott, Vice-President, Prairie Region, 403-215-8329, [email protected]
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