MFDA Hearing Panel approves settlement agreement with Gerard Van Schothorst

TORONTO, March 22, 2017 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Gerard Van Schothorst ("Respondent") was held on March 21, 2017 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 approved 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 $6,500 ("Fine");
• costs in the amount of $2,500 ("Costs"); and
• the Fine and Costs shall be paid in nine (9) installments of $1,000, with the first installment to be paid on the date of the settlement hearing, and the remaining eight (8) installments payable on the last business days of the eight (8) months following the date of acceptance of the Settlement Agreement by the Hearing Panel;
• if the Respondent fails to make any of the installment payments described above when the installments become due, then without further notice to the Respondent, the Respondent shall summarily be suspended from conducting securities related business while in the employ of, or associated with, any MFDA Member until the full amount of the Fine has been paid;
• the Respondent shall be prohibited from acting as a branch manager or in any supervisory capacity for a Member of the MFDA for a period of one (1) month commencing upon the date the Settlement Agreement is accepted by the Hearing Panel;
• the Respondent shall successfully complete the Branch Manager's Course within six (6) months of the date the Settlement Agreement is accepted by the Hearing Panel.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

1. between August 27, 2012 and January 21, 2015, he obtained, possessed and in some instances used to process transactions, five (5) pre-signed account forms in respect of two (2) clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1;
2. between August 27, 2012 and January 21, 2015, acting in his capacity as branch manager, he reviewed and approved the use of five (5) pre-signed account forms, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.5.5(f) and 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 Lethbridge, 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]

Related Links

http://www.mfda.ca