Ex-Royal Bank advisers admit to forging client signatures—for 10 years

More shady shenanigans in connection with the Royal Bank of Canada: the Toronto Star reports that two Toronto-based investment advisers were fired from RBC Dominion Securities after admitting they faked client signatures for over a decade. Mark Steven Rotstein and Jessica Elisabeth Zackheim, who now work at Scotia McLeod, say they signed off on a range of documents, like trading authorizations and risk disclosure forms, to give clients a break from pesky paperwork. Since the trickery saved clients’ time and didn’t result in any financial harm, they thought, who would mind? Er, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, for one. The body made a deal with Rotstein and Zackheim that includes fines of $250,000 and $50,000, respectively, and a year’s suspension (we trust there were witnesses present when they signed the agreement). [Toronto Star]