A Hearing Panel of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada has fined a Vancouver broker $80,000 for unauthorized trading in client accounts.
On January 24, the panel accepted a settlement agreement negotiated between IDA staff and Kenneth Miller. Miller was a registered representative working at the Vancouver head office of Canaccord Capital Corp.
Miller admitted that between January 2000 and May 2002, he:
- effected seven unauthorized transactions in the accounts of three separate clients without prior authorization from those clients;
- continually failed to contact a client to advise him that there were margin calls in his account and that he was required to deposit money into his account;
- engaged in personal financial dealings with a client without advising his firm;
- maintained accounts and processed transactions for clients who resided in Alberta, where he was not registered;
- failed to inform compliance or supervisory personnel at his firm of a complaint from a client and attempted to personally settle the complaint without the approval of his firm; and
- made a false statement to a compliance officer at his firm who made a trade related inquiry regarding transactions in the account of a client.
In addition, Miller also admitted that he effected 34 discretionary transactions in the accounts of three separate clients without their prior written authorization.
The IDA panel permanently prohibited Miller from approval to act in any registered capacity with any IDA member firm, and fined him $80,000. He must also pay $20,000 in association costs.
Miller has not been employed with any IDA member firm since May 31, 2002.
A complete summary of facts is contained in IDA Bulletin 3390.