A former mutual fund rep has been fined and permanently banned after regulators found that he misappropriated almost $100,000 from two clients.
A Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) hearing panel banned David Len Carleton Richard, a rep with Assante Financial Management Ltd. in Thunder Bay, Ont., and ordered him to pay a fine of $275,000 and $11,612 in costs.
The penalty followed an electronic hearing that upheld disciplinary allegations brought against Richard by MFDA enforcement staff.
The self-regulatory organization accused Richard of misappropriating approximately $98,550 from two clients and producing a “fabricated account statement” to hide his conduct.
According to the allegations, Richard misappropriated over $62,000 from one client, who was a vulnerable senior and the mother of a women Richard was in a relationship with at the time. After the woman’s daughter questioned the activity, Richard produced a false account statement indicating that the money was invested with Fidelity.
When the client later sought to transfer her account to a new firm, the false statement was discovered. The client complained and she was compensated by the dealer. Richard was terminated by Assante in April 2018.
The MFDA also alleged that Richard took $36,350 from another client to invest in shares of BlackBerry Limited, which he was not authorized to sell. Again, after the scheme was uncovered, the dealer compensated the client.
Richard did not participate in the regulator’s investigation, as MFDA staff were unable to locate to him.
The panel indicated that it would issue reasons for its ruling at a later date.