A New Self-Regulatory Organization of Canada (New SRO) hearing panel has accepted a settlement agreement with Kanata, Ontario based dealing representative, Albert Marcel Joseph, sanctioning the representative for keeping pre-signed forms and for altering forms without having clients initial the alterations.
All told, Investia Financial Services Inc. found 42 account forms for 34 different clients which were altered between November 2015 and February 2021 without having the client initial the alterations. The April 2021 review of Joseph’s files also uncovered three pre-signed account forms, some dating back as early as April 2016.
Registered in the securities industry since 1993 and with Investia since September 2008, Joseph was placed under strict supervision for nearly four months and was made to pay an administrative charge of $992 to cover the costs of audit letters mailed to clients after the forms were discovered.
He later admitted to making alterations to purchase amounts, special instructions, sales charge percentages, fund descriptions, names, transaction types and more, and admitted to keeping the pre-signed forms. The New SRO settlement agreement states that there is no evidence of client loss, complaints or lack of authorization. “No clients reported any concerns to the member in response to its letters,” they write.
In addition to a fine in the amount of $25,000, Joseph was also ordered to pay costs in the amount of $2,500.
