A hearing panel of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) has permanently banned a former mutual fund report for misappropriating approximately $31,636 from her father, who was a client. and failing to co-operate with the MFDA’s investigation.
After a disciplinary hearing held Wednesday, the panel found that Brenda Douglas, a former rep with Scotia Securities Inc. in Waterloo, Ont., violated MFDA rules, the self-regulatory organization announced.
According to the MFDA’s notice of hearing, Douglas opened a joint bank account with her father, a retired firefighter, without his knowledge. She also opened a RRIF account at Scotia in his name, and redeemed more than $30,000 from the RRIF account into the secret bank account. Her father only learned about the accounts when he was contacted by a collection agency about a delinquent line of credit that was opened in his name at Scotia, also without his knowledge.
As a result, Scotia launched an investigation, and her father reported Douglas to police.
In 2017, Douglas pleaded guilty to three criminal charges and received a conditional sentence of two years less a day, three years of probation, and was ordered to pay restitution of $329,756.
In addition to the permanent ban, the MFDA panel fined Douglas $100,000 — $50,000 for misappropriating funds and $50,000 for failing to failing to co-operate with the investigation, and ordered her to pay costs of $10,000.