A former mutual fund rep that was sent to prison for six years after admitting to a $6.6 million securities fraud is now also facing a permanent ban from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
The OSC said Tuesday it will hold a hearing on August 18 to consider imposing a permanent ban on Paul Yoannou, a former rep with Investors Group Financial Services Inc. who pled guilty to 15 counts of fraud over $5,000 in 2013; and was subsequently sentenced to six years in prison.
Now, the OSC says that it is seeking an inter-jurisdictional enforcement order reciprocating Yoannou’s convictions, and banning him from the industry.
According to the OSC’s allegations, Yoannou misappropriated approximately $6.6 million from one company and 18 individuals with various fraudulent schemes. He was subsequently charged with 32 counts of fraud in the Ontario Court of Justice, and was convicted of 15 of those counts, after pleading guilty.
He has already been permanently banned by the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) after it held a disciplinary hearing to consider similar allegations as the court proceeding, along with a charge of failing to cooperate with the MFDA’s investigation. (See Investment Executive, Disgraced former advisor called ‘despicable fraudster’, May 08, 2013.)