Fraudster pays $55,000 in restitution to victims

Afinancial planner has been banned from having a job where he is in a position of financial trust after two clients in Niagara were bilked out of $55,000.

“This was a devastating blow to the complainants in this matter,” Judge Peter Wilkie said Thursday.

Wasseem Dirani appeared in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines for sentencing on a charge of fraud over $5,000.

Since the defendant had provided his lawyer with $55,000 in restitution for the victims, the judge imposed a penalty of probation for three years.

Dirani, a resident of Ancaster, cannot conduct any business that involves the handling of money and he must perform 180 hours of community service.

He must also take counselling as directed by his probation officer. Assistant Crown attorney Stacey Sheehan suggested counselling in empathy and victim awareness would be beneficial.

Dirani, a former adviser with the Toronto branch of IPC Securities, misappropriated funds from two Niagara clients to the tune of $55,000. One victim in 2014 agreed to put $35,000 into a unit purchase investment while the second client made two investments in 2015 totalling $20,000.

“I apologize to the victims for what happened,” Dirani told the judge.

“I never intended for them to go through what they’ve gone through.”

In 2016, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada banned Dirani permanently from the investment industry and fined him $266,000.

In 2014, Dirani settled allegations from the IIROC, admitting to engaging in undisclosed personal business with a client without his firm’s knowledge. At the time, he was employed as a registered representative with the Hamilton branch of Edward Jones. In that case, he was fined $40,000 and placed under 12 months of strict supervision.

The IIROC is the self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and their trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada.