Ont. financial advisor convicted of $1.8M fraud, permanently banned by investment regulator

A financial advisor who admitted to defrauding 25 clients out of nearly $2 million has now been permanently banned from the securities industry.

Convicted fraudster Kevin Douse, 41, was sanctioned by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), which found Douse, while working with Quadrus Investment Services in Orillia, Ont., misappropriated and failed to account for funds obtained from clients and failed to cooperate with an investigation by the regulatory organization’s staff into his conduct.

The CIRO panel fined Douse $530,000 and ordered him to pay another $30,000 in legal costs. The punishment followed a hearing held over three days in late November, when Douse failed to show up for the start of proceedings and did not call any evidence in his defence.

Douse told the panel he “devastated many people” and will continue taking responsibility for his actions, to keep “working to make restitution” as he struggles to survive financially. He urged the panel not to impose costs and financial sanctions, as doing so would hurt his ability to make restitution to those he defrauded.

Douse pleaded guilty in a Barrie, Ont., courtroom in September to defrauding his clients, many of whom were longtime friends and loved ones, out of $1.8 million between 2016 and 2023. As part of an Agreed Statement of Facts read to the court, the prosecution said Douse asked clients to personally write him cheques worth tens of thousands of dollars, which he then deposited into his personal bank accounts, using the money for himself without their knowledge.

Shortly after his arrest in early 2025, clients told CTV News they thought Douse, who worked for a now-defunct Orillia-based company known as WLTH Inc., was investing their money. Many said they lost their retirement and life savings as a result of Douse’s fraud.

The regulatory organization noted Douse is not currently registered in the securities industry in any capacity.