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May 12, 2023 - 7:00 PM
A former Merritt CIBC employee has been fined $300,000 for stealing $157,000 from an elderly client and the bank.
According to an April 25 Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada decision, Hope Moira Donna Thomas was found to have misappropriated $97,000 from a 79-year-old client and pilfered a further $64,000 from the bank.
"She held a position of trust with the client who was elderly and vulnerable, whom she exploited in order to steal money for her own personal use," the decision reads.
The decision says in 2018 the elderly client opened a tax-free savings account and deposited $56,000 into it.
Thomas, born 1982, then opened a fake account in the client's name and over the course of a dozen transactions transferred $59,000 from the saving account to the fake account.
She also ran up a $5,000 overdraft on the fake account and changed the address of the account and had the statements delivered online so the senior wouldn't find out.
The decision says Thomas also "misappropriated" $34,000 money from a joint account the senior had with her spouse.
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She also took out loans and a line of credit in the senior's name to the tune of $59,000.
"The misconduct in the present case is egregious. She stole money from an elderly client who trusted her and also defrauded the bank by obtaining a loan in the client’s name and using the proceeds for her personal use. She cannot be trusted with clients’ monies in the future," the decision reads.
In October 2019, CIBC fired Thomas and she was later criminally charged with three counts of fraud. She pleaded guilty to one count and is currently waiting to be sentenced.
The decision says CIBC repaid the money stolen from the senior but it has never recovered a penny from Thomas.
The decision says Thomas failed to attend the hearing and respond to the regulator's correspondence.
"(Thomas) has not demonstrated that she recognizes the seriousness of her misconduct, and has not expressed remorse for her actions. She has refused to participate in the hearing process or otherwise accept responsibility for her misconduct," the regulator said.
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Ultimately, the Mutual Fund Dealers Association fined Thomas $300,000 plus $10,000 in costs and banned her for life from working in securities-related business.
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