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A former mutual fund advisor has been fined and permanently banned after a regulatory hearing panel found that he engaged in personal financial dealings with a vulnerable client, his father.

A Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) hearing panel upheld allegations against a former advisor with Investors Group Financial Services Inc. in Calgary, Ilden Francis Loyola, and handed down sanctions including a $60,000 fine and a permanent ban. Loyola was also ordered to pay $5,000 in costs.

The panel found that Loyola violated MFDA rules by engaging in unapproved personal financial dealings with a client, and for failing to cooperate with the self-regulatory organization’s investigation into his conduct.

According to the MFDA’s allegations, Loyola redeemed over $27,000 from his father’s RRIF and TFSA accounts and deposited the proceeds into his own bank account.

After his father complained to the firm about the unauthorized redemptions, Loyola claimed they were loans or gifts, however his father denied that assertion.

Ultimately, the firm offered to reimburse the client and Loyola was terminated. He is no longer registered.

The MFDA also alleged that Loyola failed to cooperate with its investigation.