MFDA Hearing Panel issues Reasons for Decision in the matter of Christopher Garofalo

TORONTO, Aug. 10, 2016 /CNW/ - A Hearing Panel of the Central Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA") has issued its Reasons for Decision in connection with a settlement hearing held in Toronto, Ontario on July 28, 2016 in the matter of Christopher M. Garofalo (the "Respondent"). The Reasons for Decision relate to the Hearing Panel's acceptance of the settlement agreement (the "Settlement Agreement") entered into between the Respondent and Staff of the MFDA. In its Reasons for Decision dated August 10, 2016, (the "Reasons for Decision") the Hearing Panel confirmed the following sanctions:

• a fine in the amount of $8,500;
• costs in the amount of $2,500; and
• in the future shall comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that between January 2013 and May 2014, he did not adequately supervise his unlicensed assistants, for whom he was responsible, with respect to the use of five pre-signed account forms and one account form where the Respondent's assistant had cut a client signature from a previously signed account form and re-used it, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

Copies of the Reasons for Decision and the Settlement Agreement are available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca. During the period described in the Reasons for Decision, the Respondent carried on business in the Cambridge, 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, 416-943-4619, [email protected]