MFDA Hearing Panel approves settlement agreement with Sonia Padilla

TORONTO, May 31, 2019 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Sonia Padilla ("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 9, 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, payable in installments as follows:
• $10,000 upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement;
• $1,000 on or before June 28, 2019;
• $1,000 on or before July 31, 2019;
• $1,000 on or before August 30, 2019;
• $1,000 on or before September 30, 2019;
• $1,000 on or before October 31, 2019;
• costs in the amount of $2,500; and
• shall in the future comply with MFDA Rules 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

a)	between June 2012 and July 2017, she altered, and used to process transactions, 21 account forms in respect of 13 clients by altering information on the account forms without having the client initial the alterations, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
b)	on or about February 26, 2013, she photocopied the signed client signature page from a previously completed account form, attached it to a new account form, and used the form to process a transaction, 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 conducted business in the Markham, 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]

Related Links

www.mfda.ca