Watch for signs of financial abuse of seniors, securities commission warns after mortgage salesperson charged

Allegations a Manitoba mortgage salesperson took more than $500,000 from a widow in her 80s have prompted the Manitoba Securities Commission to warn other seniors about how to avoid becoming the victim of fraud.

Bret Allan Dobbin, 57, has been charged in provincial court with 18 counts of violating The Securities Act, including trading in securities without being registered, in connection with 18 separate transactions between April 2016 and June 2017 totalling $534,237, the securities commission said in a Wednesday news release.

He faces another 36 counts in violation of the Mortgage Brokers Act, including acting as a mortgage broker on his own behalf and failing to pay the registered broker with whom he was registered.

"Our team was alerted about transactions involving Dobbin and a Winnipeg woman," Jason Roy, a senior investigator with the commission, said in Wednesday's news release.

"Following an investigation, MSC staff concluded that Dobbin had violated both acts."

The victim was a widow in her 80s, the commission said.

Dobbin is registered as a mortgage salesperson and has worked for a Winnipeg mortgage broker since 2011, but his registration as a mortgage salesperson is currently suspended, according to the MSC — a provincial agency that works to protect investors and promote fair market practices.

This is not the first time Dobbin has been accused of questionable dealings with an elderly person. 

In 2002, he was fired by Edward Jones Investments for stealing from a widowed client, the securities commission said.

He was also previously banned by the commission from registration under the Securities Act for 10 years, as part of a settlement in 2006.

He is not currently registered under the act, the commission said.

In light of these violations, the securities commission is warning the public to be aware of senior financial abuse and to look for red flags of such abuse, including dependence on another person for financial support, or signs of an individual being overly protective or controlling of the older person.

People are advised to contact Manitoba Securities Commission if they believe they have been targeted by any type of investment fraud attempt, including senior financial abuse, at the commission's anti-fraud line: 1-855-372-8362.