MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with Susan Sears
TORONTO, March 6, 2018 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Susan Grace Sears ("Respondent") was held yesterday in Edmonton, 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 dated February 16, 2018 ("Settlement Agreement") between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed:
- a fine in the amount of $11,500 ("Fine");
- costs in the amount of $2,500 ("Costs");
- payment of the Fine and Costs shall be made to and received by MFDA Staff in certified funds as follows:
- $2,500 (Fine) upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement;
- $2,500 (Costs) upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement;
- $5,000 on or before the last business day of the 3rd month following the date of the acceptance of the Settlement Agreement; and
- $4,000 on or before the last business day of the 6th month following the date of the acceptance of the Settlement Agreement;
- failure to make any of the installment payments described above will result in:
- any outstanding balance of the Fine owed shall become immediately due and payable to the MFDA; and
- a prohibition 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 owed is paid to the MFDA;
- shall successfully complete an ethics or other industry course acceptable to the MFDA within one year of the Hearing Panel's Order; and
- shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1.
In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that between September 2014 and May 2016, she obtained, possessed, and used to process transactions, 36 pre-signed account forms in respect of three 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 Grand Prairie, 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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