MFDA Hearing Panel approves settlement agreement with James Russell Taylor
TORONTO, July 23, 2019 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of James Russell Taylor ("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 approved the settlement agreement dated July 17, 2019 ("Settlement Agreement") between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed on the Respondent:
- a permanent prohibition from conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of or associated with a Member of the MFDA;
- a fine in the amount of $40,000, payable in installments as follows:
- $20,000 upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement;
- $10,000 on or before January 31, 2020;
- $10,000 on or before July 31, 2020; and
- costs in the amount of $5,000, payable upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement.
In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:
a) commencing in 2011, he acted as an executor for deceased client TJ's estate, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures and MFDA Rules 2.3.1, 2.1.4, 1.1.2 and 2.5.1, and 2.1.1;
b) commencing in 2011, he was aware that he was named as executor and trustee and a beneficiary of client BT's estate, and following client BT's death, acted as executor and trustee for deceased client BT's estate and accepted a benefit from the estate, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures and MFDA Rules 2.3.1, 2.1.4, 1.1.2 and 2.5.1, and 2.1.1; and
c) commencing November 2015, he failed to cooperate with an investigation in to his conduct by Staff of the MFDA, contrary to section 22.1 of MFDA By-law No. 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 conducted business in the Etobicoke, 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 81,000 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, Managing Director, Litigation, 416-943-4619, [email protected]
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