Settlement Agreement

INTRODUCTION

1. Staff of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (“Staff”) and David Lawrence Hennessey (the “Respondent”), consent and agree to settlement of this matter by way of this agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”).
2. Staff conducted an investigation of the Respondent’s activities which disclosed activity for which the Respondent could be penalized on the exercise of the discretion of the Hearing Panel pursuant to s. 24.1 of By-law No. 1.

JOINT SETTLEMENT RECOMMENDATION

3. Staff and the Respondent jointly recommend that the Hearing Panel accept the Settlement Agreement.
4. The Respondent admits to the following violations of the By-laws, Rules or Policies of the MFDA:
   1. between January 2015 and February 2015, the Respondent falsified the signatures of 5 clients on 10 account forms, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.
5. Staff and the Respondent agree and consent to the following terms of settlement:
   1. the Respondent shall be prohibited 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 6 months from the date of the Settlement Hearing, pursuant to section 24.1.1(e) of MFDA By-law No. 1;
   2. the Respondent shall pay costs in the amount of $1,000 pursuant to s. 24.2 of MFDA By-law No. 1;
   3. the Respondent shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
   4. the Respondent will attend by teleconference on the date set for the Settlement Hearing.
6. Staff and the Respondent agree to the settlement on the basis of the facts set out in Part III herein and consent to the making of an Order in the form attached as Schedule “A”.

AGREED FACTS

Registration History

7. The Respondent was registered in the securities industry commencing in 1998.
8. From September 2010 to March 2015, the Respondent was registered in Ontario as a mutual fund salesperson (now known as a dealing representative) with Scotia Securities Inc. (“Scotia Securities”), a Member of the MFDA.
9. On March 9, 2015, the Respondent was terminated as a result of the matter described herein, and is not currently registered in the securities industry.
10. At all material times, the Respondent conducted business in the Scarborough, Ontario area.

Falsification of Client Signatures

11. At all material times, Scotia Securities’ Guidelines for Business Conduct prohibited its Approved Persons, including the Respondent, from falsifying client signatures. 
12. Between January 6, 2015 and February 20, 2015, the Respondent falsified the signatures of 5 clients on 10 account forms, and submitted the forms to Scotia Securities for processing. The falsified account forms are summarized in the table below.

13. The Respondent states that he falsified the client signatures described above after discussing the transactions or information on the account forms with the clients.

Action Taken by the Member

14. In January 2015, Scotia Securities became aware of the conduct that is the subject of this Settlement Agreement after a Scotia Securities compliance officer identified a suspect signature on an account form submitted by the Respondent.
15. As part of its investigation into the Respondent’s conduct, Scotia Securities reviewed additional trades processed by the Respondent, and identified the remainder of the signature falsifications that are the subject of this Settlement Agreement.
16. Scotia Securities contacted all of the clients for whom falsified signatures were identified, except for client HG who could not be reached, in order to determine whether the Respondent had engaged in any unauthorized trading activity in their accounts.  None of the clients reported any concerns to Scotia Securities.

Additional Factors

17. There is no evidence that the Respondent received any financial benefit from engaging in the misconduct described in this Settlement Agreement.
18. There is no evidence of client loss.
19. The Respondent has not previously been the subject of MFDA disciplinary proceedings. 
20. By entering into this Settlement Agreement, the Respondent has saved the MFDA the time, resources and expenses associated with conducting a full hearing of the allegations.

ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SETTLEMENT

21. This settlement is agreed upon in accordance with section 24.4 of MFDA By-law No. 1 and Rules 14 and 15 of the MFDA Rules of Procedure.
22. The Settlement Agreement is subject to acceptance by the Hearing Panel which shall be sought at a hearing (the “Settlement Hearing”).  At, or following the conclusion of, the Settlement Hearing, the Hearing Panel may either accept or reject the Settlement Agreement.
23. The Settlement Agreement shall become effective and binding upon the Respondent and Staff as of the date of its acceptance by the Hearing Panel.  Unless otherwise stated, any monetary penalties and costs imposed upon the Respondent are payable immediately, and any suspensions, revocations, prohibitions, conditions or other terms of the Settlement Agreement shall commence, upon the effective date of the Settlement Agreement.
24. Staff and the Respondent agree that if this Settlement Agreement is accepted by the Hearing Panel:
    1. the Settlement Agreement will constitute the entirety of the evidence to be submitted respecting the Respondent in this matter;
    2. the Respondent waives any rights to a full hearing, a review hearing before the Board of Directors of the MFDA or any securities commission with jurisdiction in the matter under its enabling legislation, or a judicial review or appeal of the matter before any court of competent jurisdiction;
    3. Staff will not initiate any proceeding under the By-laws of the MFDA against the Respondent in respect of the facts and the contraventions described in this Settlement Agreement.  Nothing in this Settlement Agreement precludes Staff from investigating or initiating proceedings in respect of any facts and contraventions that are not set out in this Settlement Agreement.  Furthermore, nothing in this Settlement Agreement shall relieve the Respondent from fulfilling any continuing regulatory obligations;
    4. the Respondent shall be deemed to have been penalized by the Hearing Panel pursuant to s. 24.1.2 of By-law No. 1 for the purpose of giving notice to the public thereof in accordance with s. 24.5 of By-law No. 1; and
    5. neither Staff nor the Respondent will make any public statement inconsistent with this Settlement Agreement. Nothing in this section is intended to restrict the Respondent from making full answer and defence to any civil or other proceedings against the Respondent.
25. If, for any reason, this Settlement Agreement is not accepted by the Hearing Panel, each of Staff and the Respondent will be entitled to any available proceedings, remedies and challenges, including proceeding to a disciplinary hearing pursuant to sections 20 and 24 of By-law No. 1, unaffected by the Settlement Agreement or the settlement negotiations.
26. Staff and the Respondent agree that the terms of the Settlement Agreement, including the attached Schedule “A”, will be released to the public only if and when the Settlement Agreement is accepted by the Hearing Panel.
27. The Settlement Agreement may be signed in one or more counterparts which together shall constitute a binding agreement.  A facsimile copy of any signature shall be effective as an original signature.