IDA Hearing Panel finds Ivan Djordjevic guilty of forgery

    TORONTO, Aug. 27 /CNW/ - A Hearing Panel of the Investment Dealers
Association of Canada (IDA), appointed pursuant to By-law 20, has found Ivan
Djordjevic, at all material times an Approved Person at the downtown Toronto
office of Desjardins Securities Inc. (Desjardins), guilty of violating By-law
29.1.
    In its decision on merits dated July 20, 2007, a Hearing Panel found
that, on or about March 1, 2004, Mr. Djordjevic forged the signature of client
AG on an unlimited guarantee for the purposes of having AG guarantee the
account of client PW which is conduct unbecoming and detrimental to the public
interest, contrary to By-law 29.1
    AG and PW were both clients of Mr. Djordjevic and did not know of each
other until November 2005, at which time Mr. Djordjevic told AG that he had
linked his account with the account of another client, PW. AG had no
recollection of ever signing any documents guaranteeing any accounts held by
PW, and upon reviewing the Unlimited Continuing Guarantee, advised Desjardins
that the signature on the document was in fact not his.
    The Panel accepted the evidence of the IDA's expert witness, who
testified that the signature on the guarantee was forged and that the "AG"
signature on the guarantee could not be attributed to the same person who had
signed AG on various other genuine documents. In the result, the Panel found
that there was clear and convincing proof that the signature of AG on the
guarantee was forged. The Panel found that Mr. Djordjevic was the person who
had forged the signature.
    The penalties to be imposed upon Mr. Djordjevic will be assessed at a
penalty hearing on October 10, 2007.
    Mr. Djordjevic has not been registered with an IDA Member firm since
November 2005.

    The Investment Dealers Association of Canada (IDA) is the national
self-regulatory organization of the securities industry. The IDA's mission is
to protect investors, foster market integrity and enhance the efficiency and
competitiveness of the Canadian capital markets. The IDA enforces rules and
regulations regarding the sales, business and financial practices of its
Member firms and their approved persons. Investigating complaints and
disciplining Members and approved persons is part of the IDA's regulatory
role.

For further information:

For further information: Alex Popovic, Vice President, Enforcement,
(416) 943-6904 or apopovic@ida.ca; Jeff Kehoe, Director, Enforcement
Litigation, (416) 943-6996 or jkehoe@ida.ca