MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with Zohar Barak

TORONTO, June 23, 2016 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Zohar (Michael) Barak (the "Respondent") was held today in Toronto, Ontario before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Central Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA").

The Hearing Panel accepted the settlement agreement (the "Settlement Agreement") between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which:

• The Respondent shall pay a fine in the amount of $9,000 pursuant to s. 24.1.1(b) of MFDA By-law No.1;
• The Respondent shall pay costs in the amount of $2,500 pursuant to s. 24.2 of MFDA By-law No. 1;
• The fine shall be payable in 12 monthly installments in the amount of $750 each, the first of which shall be paid on the final business day of the month that follows the date of the acceptance of the settlement agreement by the Hearing Panel; and
• The Respondent shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement the Respondent admitted that between July 6, 2004 and May 7, 2014, the Respondent, or his assistant for whom he was responsible, obtained, possessed, and in two instances, used to process transactions, 54 pre-signed account forms in respect of at least 28 clients.

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 Ottawa, Ontario 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, 416-943-4618, [email protected]