The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada has fined a pair of Ontario reps a total of $300,000 for forging client signatures.
On April 18, an IIROC hearing panel accepted a settlement agreement between IIROC staff, Mark Rotstein and Jessica Zackheim.
Rotstein and Zackheim admitted for more than a decade, until March 2011, they signed client names on account- and investment-related documents and passed those signatures off as the clients’ own.
The documents included fee schedules, risk disclosure and acknowledgement forms, account agreements, U.S. tax certifications, transfer authorizations, trading authorizations and private placement subscription forms.
The conduct occurred when Rotstein was a registered representative and Zackheim was an investment representative at the North York branch of RBC Dominion Securities Inc.
“Rotstein’s and Zackheim’s misconduct was significant. They created risks for the clients whose names they signed, for their dealer and for themselves,” the hearing panel stated.
As part of the settlement, the panel imposed a $250,000 fine on Rotstein and a $50,000 on Zackheim.
In addition, Rotstein and Zackheim agreed to be prohibited from registration for 12 months, and pay $10,000 in costs.
IIROC formally initiated the investigation into the pair’s conduct in May 2011.
Rotstein and Zackheim are now registered at the head office branch of Scotia Capital Inc.