Prominent advisor fined by B.C. regulator

(December 6, 2004) The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has fined Vancouver advisor Adrian Mastracci, president of KCM Wealth Management, for failing to comply with business requirements under the province’s securities legislation.

In a settlement agreement, Mastracci agreed to pay $5,000 to the BCSC. The commission reprimanded KCM Wealth Management.

The BCSC says Mastracci’s firm contravened the securities legislation in 2002 and 2003 by failing to keep proper business records, not having the required capital and failing to file annual audited financial statements.

“What happened was I was sick for about a year and some of the accounting did not get filed on time,” Mastracci says. “The commission and I reached an agreement that I was late with the accounting. It was filed and everything was fine thereafter. There’s no empathy for being sick from the outside world, but life goes on.”

Mastracci says he can’t comment on the size of the fine.

In a separate ruling issued today, the commission banned a former advisor from the province’s securities market after he admitted to illegally selling securities, breaching suitability obligations and failing to deal fairly with his clients.

Grant Cramer, a former registered representative and director of IDF Financial Services, agreed to pay the BCSC $15,000 and not to apply for registration under the Securities Act until August, 2009.

Cramer is banned from buying or selling securities (except for in his personal account) and engaging in investor relations activities until that time.

From 1997 to 2000, IDF raised more than $13 million by selling securities of River Ranch Resort and other issuers, some of which were sold illegally. Eight other IDF advisors have already reached settlement agreements with the B.C. regulator.

Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, doug.watt@advisor.rogers.com