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by Mike Caswell

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization has imposed a 12-month ban on Sabrina Antonia Baggs, a former Scotia Securities Inc. employee cited for abusing the firm's bonus system. CIRO claimed that Ms. Baggs set up clients for preauthorized contributions to their accounts without their knowledge or approval. She did so with her bonus dependent in part on those contributions.

The ban for Ms. Baggs is contained in a settlement agreement that CIRO released on Monday, Oct. 7. The settlement bars her from working in a registered capacity for 12 months, with the ban to begin on Aug. 19, 2024. She must also pay a $20,000 fine and $5,000 in CIRO's costs. Ms. Baggs accepted the penalties as part of a settlement agreement in which she has admitted to the violations.

The case stems from a bonus system that Scotia Securities had in place when Ms. Baggs worked at the firm. There were multiple items that contributed to an employee's bonus, with one of those being a preauthorized contribution, or PAC, for a client. These are recurring payments that come out of a client's bank account and go into an investment account. Each PAC that an employee set up created internal credits known as "sales dollars" or "customer advice results."

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