MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with William Craven

TORONTO, Aug. 26, 2022 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of William Donald Craven (the "Respondent") was held electronically by videoconference on August 25, 2022 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 accepted the settlement agreement dated July 20, 2022 (the "Settlement Agreement"), between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed on the Respondent:

• a suspension from conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of or associated with any MFDA Member for a period of thirty days; commencing August 25, 2022;
• a fine in the amount of $20,000;
• costs in the amount of $2,500;
• shall successfully complete the Ethics and Professional Conduct Course offered by the IFSE Institute, or an industry course acceptable to Staff of the MFDA, by August 25, 2023; and
• shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

a)  between January 15, 2015 and July 20, 2020, he altered and used to process transactions 134 account forms in respect of 94 clients by altering information on the account forms without having the clients initial the alterations, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and

b)  between October 2014 and January 2019, he obtained, possessed, and in some instances, used to process transactions, 121 pre-signed account forms in respect of 53 clients, 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 conducted business in the Chatham, Ontario area.

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 76,695 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.

SOURCE Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada