A former financial adviser who admitted using his clients’ money for his own use has been fined $500,000.
Shaun Wayne Howell must also pay $10,000 in costs in the settlement reached with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).
Howell admits that from 2008 to 2015 he solicited clients to invest in a variety of securities and then misappropriated the money. At the time, he was a registered representative with the Red Deer branch of RBC Dominion Securities Inc., say regulators.
It is alleged Howell convinced his clients, many of them long-time friends, to invest $692,000, which he put into his personal bank account for his own use. He paid out $290,000 to five clients over seven years, telling them it was the return on their investments.
In February, 2013 he also broke the rules when he borrowed $50,000 from a client without the dealer member’s full knowledge.
As part of the settlement, Howell is permanently banned from registering as a financial adviser.
IIROC launched an investigation into Howell’s conduct in March 2015.
Howell, who had worked at RBC since 1999, was fired in March 2015 and no longer works with any IIROC-regulated firm.
pcowley@bprda.wpengine.com
