The Investment Dealers Association of Canada has permanently banned former Thomson Kernaghan & Co. Ltd. broker Patrick Teggart and fined him $125,000 for committing forgery and unauthorized trades among other things.

At a disciplinary hearing April 11, the IDA’s Ontario District Council found that Teggart engaged in conduct unbecoming by committing five counts of forgery, engaging in unauthorized trading, obtaining the signature of two clients for account guarantees of which the clients had no knowledge or understanding, and opening an account in the name of a client without her knowledge or consent. Teggart was also found to have engaged in discretionary trading and failing to use due diligence to ensure that recommendations made were suitable for a client.

The conduct related to a joint account opened at Thomson Kernaghan in April 1999 for which Teggart was the advisor. Over two years the account suffered a net loss of $17, 902.02, a loss of more than 46% of the net contributions made to the account, the IDA said Thursday.

Teggart must also return $4,241.64 in commissions and was ordered to pay the association’s costs in the amount of $20,000.

“The severity of the penalty reflects the serious nature of these infractions,” said Alex Popovic, IDA’s vice president of enforcement. “We are committed to vigorously enforcing our rules and regulations to send a clear message that this is unacceptable conduct and will be penalized harshly.”

For a complete summary of facts, please see IDA Bulletin No. 3138 at www.ida.ca.