Mutual fund dealing rep failed to co-operate with investigation into allegations he misappropriated funds from father
A former mutual fund dealing rep has been banned for life and fined $50,000 for failing to co-operate with an MFDA inquiry.
Frank Louis Surette first become registered in Ontario in 1994 and, between October 2013 and March 2017, worked at Peak Investment Services Inc until he was sacked. He has not worked in the securities industry since.
The alleged original violation included how, in January 2017, the respondent was accused of borrowing or misappropriating approximately $65,718.11 from the investment account of his father by processing withdrawals from the account and depositing the funds into either: his personal bank accounts, joint bank accounts held between the respondent and his spouse, or bank accounts held solely by his spouse.
The settlement hearing stated that MFDA staff made eight requests for documentation from Surette and three requests to attend and give information to matters relevant to the investigation.
The MFDA stated: “In short, the hearing panel found that the respondent largely failed to fulfil his obligations to provide the information and assistance to staff and failed completely to attend to be interviewed by staff.”
Surette must also pay costs of $11,187.50.
