At a settlement hearing on August 13, the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) fined Peak Investment Services Ltd. advisor, Timothy Donald Warr, $14,000 plus costs in the amount of $2,500 after Warr admitted he altered and used account forms without having clients initial the alterations, and also used pre-signed forms, contrary to MFDA rules.
Specifically, Warr says he altered and used four account forms for four different clients, by altering information on the account forms without having the clients initial the alterations. He also admits to obtaining, possessing, and in some cases using 26 pre-signed account forms for 16 different clients. The forms included KYC forms, new account application forms, and dealer representative change forms.
The altered and pre-signed forms were first identified during an MFDA compliance examination in December 2018. A subsequent review of Warr’s files identified the remaining forms. Follow-up audits in January 2019 and September 2019 did not identify any additional altered or pre-signed account forms. The MFDA says there is no evidence of client loss, complaints or that any transactions were unauthorized.
Registered in the securities industry since August 1998, Warr has worked with Peak since December 2017 when he transferred approximately 300 client accounts from another, undisclosed dealer, to Peak. Warr is currently registered as a dealing representative in Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario.
