MFDA Hearing Panel approves settlement agreement with Sebastian Encalada

February 20, 2018 (Toronto, Ontario) – A settlement hearing in the matter of Sebastian Eduardo Encalada (“Respondent”) was held today in Toronto, Ontario before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Central Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (“MFDA”).

The Hearing Panel approved the settlement agreement dated February 20, 2018 (“Settlement Agreement”) between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed on the Respondent:

1. a prohibition from conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of or associated with any Member of the MFDA for a period of one year;
2. a fine in the amount of $$5,000 (“Fine”);
3. costs in the amount of $5,000 (“Costs”);
4. the Fine and Costs shall be payable to the MFDA as follows:
   1. $2,500 payable on or before the date of the settlement hearing; and
   2. $7,500 payable no later than 60 days from the date that the Settlement Agreement is accepted by the Hearing Panel;
5. if the Respondent fails to comply with the provision of subparagraph (d)(ii), the authority of the Respondent to conduct securities related business while in the employ of or associated with a Member of the MFDA shall be immediately suspended without further notice or order of the Hearing Panel until such time as the Respondent demonstrates to the satisfaction of Staff that he has complied with the provisions of subparagraph (d)(ii).

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

1. between March 2015 and October 2015, he opened an account for an individual and processed 18 transactions in the account, without the individual’s knowledge or authorization, thereby engaging in discretionary trading, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.3.1 and 2.1.1; and
2. between March 2015 and October 2015, he falsified an individual’s signature or initials on two account forms in order open an account and process 18 transactions in the individual’s account, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca. During the period described in the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent carried on business in Brampton, Ontario.

The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its Members and their approximately 83,000 Approved Persons with a mandate to protect investors and the public interest. For more information about the MFDA’s complaint and enforcement processes, as well as links to ‘Check an Advisor’ and other Investor Tools, visit the For Investors page on the MFDA website.