A former Newfoundland investment advisor has been fined $1 million by an industry regulator for taking cash from client accounts.
In addition, Joan McCarthy has been permanently barred from working in the industry.
The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada also says McCarthy must pay more than $100,000 for costs associated with her disciplinary hearing.
“In an industry that has trust as its most fundamental principle, theft is a repudiation of the most basic industry value,” the IIROC panel said in its decision on sanctions for McCarthy.
“Theft from several clients, carried out over a lengthy period, by numerous acts of forgery, and various forms of deceit, adds to the magnitude of this violation. Simply put, it cannot be tolerated.”
Last fall, the panel concluded McCarthy was liable for falsifying signatures and appropriating funds from client accounts.
According to IIROC, she declined to co-operate with the regulator’s investigation, refusing to provide documents or answer questions.
She had been accused of taking $775,000 from the accounts of six elderly clients over a 13-year period, from 2006 through 2019.
Over that time period, she was employed by MD Management Limited at its St. John’s branch. Her employment there ended in March 2019, according to IIROC. She did not work for a regulated firm after that.
McCarthy is also facing two dozen criminal charges that span the same 13-year time frame, and the same number of alleged victims.
The former investment advisor has been charged with six counts each of fraud over $5,000, forgery, using a forged document, and possession of property obtained by crime.
Her case was due to be called at provincial court in St. John’s this week, to enter a plea.
But new COVID-19-related restrictions pushed that appearance back to later this month.
N.L. government recently gave regulator power boost
Last spring, a CBC News investigation found that Newfoundland and Labrador was the only jurisdiction in Canada that hadn’t given IIROC any teeth to actually enforce penalties against rogue investment advisors.
Months later, the provincial government plugged that legislative gap, giving the regulator enhanced abilities to investigate and sanction those who break the rules.
Newfoundland and Labrador now appears to rank near the top of the national heap in terms of powers granted to IIROC, instead of the bottom.
However, it wasn’t immediately clear whether the powers granted by the new law will apply in McCarthy’s case.
According to IIROC, the powers are not retroactive, and proceedings against McCarthy straddled its passage in the House of Assembly. She was found liable before it passed, but the matter did not conclude until afterward.
CBC News asked the provincial government for clarification. Officials there steered questions back to IIROC.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.
The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
