A settlement topping $10 million has been reached in the class action lawsuit against a financial advisor in jail for the bombing death of a former client.
Currently serving a life sentence for a first-degree murder conviction, Brian Andrew Malley, 58, of Innisfail, was also one of the defendants in an $80 million class action lawsuit from his former clients.
Malley, his wife Christine and the two companies they administered and directed — Assante Wealth Management and Assante Capital Management, were all the subject of the lawsuit launched in 2012.
A recently reached settlement of $10 million is now open for former clients to apply for a share of the money.
The suit alleged Malley “disregarded the stated investment goals of the class members … engaged in a one-size fits all investment strategy for the class members that was wholly unsuitable for the investors and … acted in his own best interests which were in conflict with the interests of his client class members.”
The settlement is not an admission of liability, wrongdoing or fault on the part of the defendants, who continue to dispute the allegations of the suit.
For the settlement to be implemented the class action has to be certified and the agreement must be approved by the court.
The approval hearing is scheduled for Nov. 30, 2015 at the Red Deer court house, 4909 48th Ave.
Malley’s financial management was also at the centre of a murder trial earlier this year.
He was convicted of first-degree murder in the November 2011 bombing death of Victoria Shachtay.
Shachtay was killed when she opened a gift left on her door stop. The gift disguised a bomb, which detonated.
Shachtay had invested $575,000 with Malley in 2007. She had received the money as part of a settlement for a 2004 car crash that left her paralyzed. Malley convinced her to bump up her investment with a $264,000 loan.
By the spring of 2011, Shachtay’s money was gone. Malley paid Shachtay $44,000 out of his own pocket from the spring to the fall of 2011.
The Investment Industry Regulation Organization of Canada also ruled in a disciplinary hearing in 2014 that Malley violated regulations in his dealings with Shachtay. The violations included failing to know essential facts related to some of his clients, making unsuitable recommendations and engaging in unauthorized discretionary trading.
Malley was permanently banned from the investment industry registry and fined $300,000.
Malley is appealing the first-degree murder conviction. The appeal is scheduled to be heard in the Alberta Court of Appeal on Jan. 6, 2016.
mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com