Advisor faked a bank note and moved funds from a 97-year-old before her firm caught on
A hearing panel has permanently banned a former BMO Investments Inc. dealing representative from the securities industry after she admitted taking $23,500 from two elderly clients, one of them about 97 years old.
The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) said its hearing panel accepted a settlement agreement with Tanziba Tahsin on July 21.
Under the agreement, Tahsin is permanently prohibited from conducting securities-related business in any capacity with any CIRO dealer member.
Tahsin admitted to misappropriating client funds between July 31 and August 15, 2024, contrary to Mutual Fund Dealer Rule 2.1.1.
She was registered as a dealing representative with BMO Investments in Toronto from February 5 to September 5, 2024, and worked at the same time as a personal banking associate with Bank of Montreal, which is affiliated with the dealer.
The agreed facts state that Tahsin opened savings and chequing accounts in her spouse's name on or about June 19, 2024.
On July 31, she made two transfers totalling $5,500 from the bank account of a client who was about 81, identified as WM, into her spouse's savings account, without the client's knowledge or authorization.
She then moved money from a second client, LS, who was roughly 97.
On or about August 7, Tahsin transferred $15,000 from that client's account into her spouse's chequing account.
Two days later she became a joint holder on her spouse's accounts, and on or about August 15 she moved a further $3,000 from LS into the joint chequing account, taking $18,000 from the client in total.
Tahsin also entered a false note in the bank's system stating that LS had withdrawn $15,000 for renovations, according to the agreement.
On or about August 15, she transferred the combined $23,500 into her own account.
The bank detected the transfers on or about August 16 and opened an investigation, the settlement said.
It recovered the funds on or about October 2, 2024, and repaid both clients. BMO Investments terminated Tahsin on September 5, 2024, and she is no longer registered in the securities industry.
In agreeing to the sanction, CIRO enforcement staff weighed several factors.
Tahsin was 24 and had worked in financial services for six months at the time, had no prior CIRO disciplinary record, and cooperated to spare a contested hearing.
She provided evidence of significant health and personal circumstances that staff considered, and the agreement said she is remorseful for her actions.
