Former mutual fund salesperson and dealing representative, Amin Mohammad Ali is being fined $50,000, assessed costs in the amount of $10,000 and has permanently been prohibited from conducting securities related business in any capacity with any Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) member after Ali ceased cooperating with the MFDA during an investigation into his conduct.
Also an insurance agent, Ali is accused of acting as an officer and director of a corporation that produces software and provides services in the United States healthcare sector. He offered financial planning, consulting, estate planning, tax preparation and other services to clients and individuals for which he charged fees, took referral fees for directing clients and other individuals to third-party professionals and also maintained at least three rental properties.
Between 2006 and February 2018, he also provided false and misleading responses to Quadrus Investment Services Inc. during annual attestations.
“At all material times, the member required its dealing representatives such as the respondent to obtain approval from the member prior to engaging in any outside business activities,” the MFDA writes in its notice of hearing in the matter.
Although the Burlington, Ontario agent disclosed that he incorporated and operated a personal corporation, Anusha Financial Group Inc., to receive his compensation from his securities and insurance business, he did not request or obtain approval to engage in any other outside business activities.
During an interview with a compliance officer in 2016 during a branch audit, Ali also made false statements about his activities, stating that he did not have any undisclosed outside business activities to report.
In April 2018 the MFDA commenced an investigation into his conduct in response to complaints received by Quadrus. The firm, in turn, raised concerns about client money being deposited into Ali’s bank accounts. The former representative’s lawyer communicated to the MFDA that Ali would not participate in the interview process or provide bank account statements and would not provide any written responses to the MFDA’s investigators.
“As a result of the failure of the respondent to provide banking records requested by staff, staff has been unable to fully investigate the extent of the respondent’s deposits of client monies into bank accounts that he controlled,” the MFDA writes.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), meanwhile, commenced proceedings in June to revoke Ali’s insurance licenses for not disclosing on licensing applications that he was the subject of an investigation by the MFDA. He also failed to disclose that he’d been terminated by the London Life Insurance Company for professional misconduct in the selling of life insurance policies and segregated funds.
The Life Agent Reporting Form (LARF) regarding Ali and his wife, Saadia Ali, accuse the pair of misrepresenting policy terms, of placing clients into inappropriate investments and for misappropriation of client funds.
“Records provided by London Life and Canada Life indicate that, for 27 former clients, insurance policy transactions were completed solely for the purpose of the Alis obtaining a deferred service charge or other fees, with no benefit to the clients as consumers,” FSRA writes in its notice of proposal to revoke the pair’s insurance licenses. “FSRA interviewed several former clients of the Alis and the life insurance agent who took over the Alis’ clients after they were terminated by London Life. The information obtained from these clients demonstrates that the Alis are not suitable to be licensed.”
