Former financial advisor Jennifer Killins, of Waterloo, Ont., pleaded guilty June 27 to four counts of fraud totaling more than $1.3 million. More than 20 individuals were the alleged victims of her activities.
Killins remains in custody after she was arrested late last year on charges of theft and forgery. Killins appeared in court on Dec. 20, 2012. She was charged with fraud over $5,000, forgery, attempted fraud over $5,000, uttering a forged document, obtaining a credit card by fraud and possession of a credit card for fraudulent purposes.
A firm date for the sentencing hearing has not been set, but is expected to take place in September, 2013. The maximum sentence for one count of fraud over $5,000 is 14 years imprisonment, says Staff Sgt. Paul Lobsinger, who heads the fraud branch of the Waterloo Regional Police Service.
Waterloo Regional Police begin investigating Killins in Oct. 2011 after receiving complaints about possible fraud cases. The Mutual Fund Dealers Association (MFDA) fined Killins $55,000 and permanently revoked her mutual fund licence as of January, 2012 following a hearing in November, 2011. (See Investment Executive, MFDA fines, bans advisor, February, 3, 2012.)
Between October 2007 and June 2009, Killins solicited $97,966.22 from a client to invest in her own company Dollars & Sense. Her firm operated under the umbrella of Interglobe Financial Services Corp., an MFDA dealership based in Windsor, Ont. , which terminated Killins after discovering she used the funds for her own personal benefit.