Two former representatives at the Toronto branch of Desjardins Securities Inc. must each pay $25,000 for misconduct, the Investment Dealers Association of Canada (IDA) said today.

An IDA hearing panel in November found that Jeffrey Kasman and Clinton Anderson conducted manipulative and/or deceptive trading in the shares of American Motorcycle Corporation (AMCY).

“The conduct of the respondents in this case was unacceptable,” said the hearing panel, in a release. “Their dereliction of duty was inexcusable. They did not just misperform their ‘know your client’ and ‘due diligence’ obligations, they failed utterly to perform them at all.”

In addition to the fine, the two men have been suspended from IDA approval for two months, must re-write the association’s conduct and practices exam and must, together, pay $40,000 in costs.

According to the IDA, the hearing panel said that a two-month suspension was appropriate in this case if balanced with meaningful financial sanctions, taking into account the men’s financial circumstances. It also explained its decision with the following: the period of time of the manipulation was relatively short; the respondents did not plan, organize or participate through personal trading in the manipulation; the dollar value of the transactions was relatively minor; there was no evidence of harm to the respondents’ employer or a third party; the respondents received no training or supervisory support; the respondents have no prior disciplinary record; there was no evidence that the respondents have not been model employees and sales representatives since the time of the trading; the respondents did not hold positions of responsibility over others; the respondents have not been “high” earners in the industry; and the gross value of commissions earned by the respondents from the trading in question was approximately $14,000.

Kasman and Anderson are currently employed at the Toronto office of Research Capital Corp.