MFDA Hearing Panel approves settlement agreement with Paul Halloran

TORONTO, April 30, 2019 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Paul Michael Halloran ("Respondent") was held yesterday 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 April 26, 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 fine in the amount of $15,000;
• costs in the amount of $5,000; and
• shall in the future comply with MFDA Rules 2.1.1, 2.3.1(b), and 1.1.2 (as it relates to 2.5.1).

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

a)	between October 11, 2016 and November 4, 2016, he processed redemptions totalling $171,270.80 from a client's accounts, based on email instructions from a fraudster who had gained unlawful access to the client's email account, without taking steps to verify he was communicating with the client, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures and MFDA Rules 2.1.1 and 1.1.2 (as it relates to 2.5.1);
b)	on October 11, 2016, he executed and submitted to the Member in order to process a redemption a "Record of Verbal Instructions" form that contained inaccurate information, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
c)	on November 4, 2016, he engaged in discretionary trading in a client's accounts, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures and MFDA Rules 2.3.1(b), 1.1.2 (as it relates to 2.5.1), 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 out of a branch office located in Belleville, Ontario.

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]

Related Links

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