IN THE MATTER OF Georges Benarroch, Linda Kent, Marjorie Ann Glover and
Credifinance Securities Limited - Discipline
TORONTO, April 22 /CNW/ - Following a penalty hearing, on agreed facts, held on March 3, 2010, in Toronto, Ontario, a Hearing Panel of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada ("IIROC") found that:
(a) Georges Benarroch and Linda Kent, while Registered Representatives with Credifinance Securities Limited("Credifinance"), and particularly from in or about January 2003 to in or about March 2006, failed to properly perform their gatekeeper responsibilities in connection with trading in Credifinance client accounts in the shares of Magnum D'Or Resources Inc. ("Magnum") and Osprey Gold Corp. ("Osprey") and engaged in financial and business transactions with Credifinance clients in relation to the distribution and sale of shares of Magnum and Osprey, which was unbecoming and detrimental to the public interest, contrary to By-law 29.1 of the IDA; (b) Marjorie Ann Glover, while a Registered Representative and Chief Compliance Officer with Credifinance Securities Limited, and particularly from in or about January 2003 to in or about March 2006, failed to exercise due diligence and failed to adequately supervise the conduct of Georges Benarroch and Linda Kent in respect of their dealings with Credifinance clients, and in particular their dealings in shares in Magnum and Osprey, which conduct was a failure in her role as gatekeeper and was unbecoming a registrant and detrimental to the public interest, contrary to By-law 29.1 of the IDA; and (c) Credifinance Securities Limited, while a Member of the IDA, and particularly from in or about January 2003 to in or about March 2006, failed in its role as a gatekeeper in that it failed to supervise the conduct of Georges Benarroch and Linda Kent and failed to supervise the transactions in Georges Benarroch's and Linda Kent's clients' accounts, which conduct was unbecoming a Member and detrimental to the public interest, contrary to By-law 29.1 of the IDA.
The Hearing Panel imposed the following penalties against the Respondents:
(a) Georges Benarroch is suspended for life and is assessed a fine of $250,000.00 and shall further disgorge all profits on these transactions; (b) Linda Kent is suspended for ten years and is assessed a fine of $50,000.00 and shall further disgorge all profits on these transactions; (c) Marjorie Ann Glover is suspended for five years and is assessed a fine of $50,000.00; and (d) Credifinance Securities Limited is fined $50,000.00 and is expelled forever.
and required the Respondents to pay costs, jointly and severally, in the amount of $100,000.00
IIROC formally initiated the investigation into the Respondents' conduct in January 2004. The violations occurred when the individual Respondents were Registered Representatives with the Toronto Branch of Credifinance Securities Limited, a member firm of the IDA. The respondents Georges Benarroch, Linda Kent and Marjorie Ann Glover are no longer registrants of an IIROC-regulated firm. Effective March, 2009, a Hearing Panel of IIROC ordered the suspension of the membership rights and privileges of Credifinance Securities Limited and ordered that it immediately cease dealing with the public.
The Hearing Panel issued its Decision and Reasons on April 13, 2010. The Hearing Panel's Decision and Reasons are available at www.iiroc.ca.
IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada. Created in 2008 through the consolidation of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada and Market Regulation Services Inc., IIROC sets high quality regulatory and investment industry standards, protects investors and strengthens market integrity while maintaining efficient and competitive capital markets. IIROC carries out its regulatory responsibilities through setting and enforcing rules regarding the proficiency, business and financial conduct of dealer firms and their registered employees and through setting and enforcing market integrity rules regarding trading activity on Canadian equity marketplaces.
For further information: Jeff Kehoe, Acting Vice President, Enforcement, (416) 943-6996, [email protected]
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