A Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) hearing panel has banned former financial advisor Gilles Robert Latour permanently, fined him $900,000 and ordered him to pay $10,000 in costs for obtaining a series of improper loans from several senior clients that he allegedly failed to repay.
Earlier this year, the MFDA hearing panel found that Latour violated MFDA rules when he solicited and accepted more than $650,000 from at least three clients, which he “has failed to return or otherwise account for.” In addition, the hearing panel also found that he failed to co-operate with the self-regulatory organization’s investigation into his conduct.
Latour was a registered representative at Equity Associates Inc. in Cornwall, Ont., and the clients he took money from as loans, back from promissory notes, “were seniors and were vulnerable clients,” the MFDA’s hearing panel’s decision states. The firm was not aware of the loans, which are prohibited under its policies.
Latour didn’t submit any evidence to challenge the allegations brought by MFDA staff, which included three affidavits and a variety of supporting evidence, according to the hearing panel’s decision: “The panel found the evidence submitted by staff to be clear, cogent and convincing and concluded that staff had satisfied the burden of proof and that the allegations had been proven.”
The initial allegations were brought after criminal charges were laid against Latour in connection with the loans, including fraud, theft, and breach of trust. Those allegations have not been proven. In addition, the hearing panel did not issue its reasons for the sanctions.
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