An Ottawa broker was recently banned for life from the Investment Dealers Association of Canada and fined $275,000 for misappropriating funds from his mother.

James Michael Brennan, who was a broker at the Ottawa branch of Assante Capital Management Ltd., reached a settlement agreement on Dec. 9 with the IDA's enforcement department. According to the arrangement, Mr. Brennan was found guilty of violating by-law 29.1 when he misappropriated $124,000 from three accounts held in his mother's name and forged her signature between November 2000 and June 2003.

Between February 2001 and March 2003, he also sent his mother false statements for two of the three accounts and created at least six false statements for a fictitious account in order to disguise the fraud.

For his misconduct, the agreement bans Mr. Brennan for life from the IDA, fined him $275,000 and he also must pay $15,000 in costs.