The B.C. Securities Commission has banned a former Merritt bank manager, last known to be working as a hairdresser, from the securities industry.
Hope Moira Donna Thomas pleaded guilty to criminal fraud in May 2023 after stealing $157,000 from her mother-in-law by using her powers as a branch manager at CIBC and forging signatures to set up fraudulent accounts.
Thomas told the court she had become addicted to drugs and suffered from mental health problems, but that she was rebuilding her life as a hairdresser.
Thomas received a two-year conditional sentence.
Thomas’ lawyer told the court the scheme "didn’t seem too complex to me.”
Thomas was banned by the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada from further securities-related employment and fined $300,000.
Last year the commission applied for a reciprocal order, which was approved by a hearing panel on Feb. 28.
Thomas is no longer allowed to work for, consult with or promote public companies, although there is no indication she had ever done so.
The commission’s mandate is to regulate the securities market and protect British Columbian investors.
Meanwhile the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice continues its prosecution of over one dozen B.C. residents who took part in an alleged stock fraud scheme involving more 100 American-listed – and some B.C.-registered – companies and $1 billion in transactions.
The scheme was orchestrated out of B.C., according to American authorities.
Like Thomas’ unrelated case, the BCSC banned two individuals found liable in a court ruling.
