Settlement Agreement

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Staff of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (“Staff”) and the Respondent, Sharad Singh (“Respondent”), consent and agree to settlement of this matter by way of this agreement (“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.

II. 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 violation of the By-laws, Rules or Policies of the MFDA:
   1. between March 2015 and March 2016, the Respondent:
      1. cut and pasted 5 client signatures from account forms previously signed by the clients onto a new account form;
      2. signed the signature of 1 client on an account form;
      3. re-used 1 signature page from an account form that was previously signed by the client; and submitted the forms for processing, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.
   2. on or about June 25, 2015, the Respondent obtained, possessed, and used to process a transaction, 1 pre-signed account form, 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 pay a fine in the amount of $12,000 upon acceptance of this Settlement Agreement, pursuant to section 24.1.1(b) of By-law No. 1;
   2. the Respondent shall pay costs in the amount of $2,500, pursuant to section 24.2 of By-law No. 1;
   3. the Respondent shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
   4. the Respondent will attend in person 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”.

III. AGREED FACTS

Registration History

7. From October 2014 to April 2016, the Respondent was registered in Ontario as a Dealing Representative with TD Investment Services Inc (“TD”), a Member of the MFDA.

8. On April 15, 2016, the Respondent resigned from TD during the course of TD’s investigation into the conduct that is the subject of this Settlement Agreement, and is no longer registered in the securities industry in any capacity.

9. At all material times, the Respondent conducted business in the Milton, Ontario area.

The Respondent Signed Client Signatures

10. At all material times, TD’s policies and procedures prohibited its Approved Persons, including the Respondent, from falsifying client signatures.

11. Between March 2015 and March 2016, the Respondent:
    1. cut and pasted 5 client signatures from account forms previously signed by the clients onto a new account form;
    2. signed the signature of 1 client on an account form;
    3. re-used 1 signature page from an account form that was previously signed by the client;

12. All of the account forms were submitted for processing.

13. The account forms consisted of account maintenance and update forms, RRSP transfer and RESP transfer forms.

Pre-Signed Account Form

14. At all material times, TD’s policies and procedures prohibited its Approved Persons from using pre-signed account forms.

15. On or about June 25, 2015, the Respondent obtained, possessed, and used to process a transaction, 1 pre-signed RESP transfer form.

TD’s Investigation

16. In March 2017, TD identified the account forms that are the subject of this Settlement Agreement during the course of a branch audit.

17. As part of its investigation, TD sent letters to all clients whose accounts were serviced by the Respondent in order to determine whether the Respondent engaged in discretionary trading. No clients reported any concerns.

18. In addition, TD also reviewed 26 client files and reviewed all trades submitted by the Respondent in 157 accounts over a one year period. No unusual activity was identified.

Additional Factors

19. There is no evidence that the Respondent received any benefit from the conduct set out above beyond the commissions or fees he would ordinarily be entitled to receive had the transactions been carried out in the proper manner.

20. There is no evidence of client loss or lack of authorization.

21. The Respondent has not previously been the subject of MFDA disciplinary proceedings.

22. By entering into this Settlement Agreement, the Respondent has saved the MFDA the time, resources, and expenses associated with conducting a full hearing on the allegations. 

IV. ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SETTLEMENT

23. 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.

24. 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. MFDA Settlement Hearings are typically held in the absence of the public pursuant to section 20.5 of MFDA By-law No. 1 and Rule 15.2(2) of the MFDA Rules of Procedure. If the Hearing Panel accepts the Settlement Agreement, then the proceeding will become open to the public and a copy of the decision of the Hearing Panel and the Settlement Agreement will be made available at www.mfda.ca.

25. 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.

26. 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 contraventions described in this Settlement Agreement. Nothing in this Settlement Agreement precludes Staff from investigating or initiating proceedings in respect of any 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.

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. 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.