An ex-life insurance agent found guilty of running a recruiting scheme was fined $60,000 by Ontario’s financial services regulator.
A letter from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) stated that Chris Oppong “took advantage” of the individuals he had recruited to be part of his sales team in order to create business for himself.
Some of Oppong’s trainees were reportedly obliged by the notice to get insurance policies before they could enroll in his regimen.
At other times, Oppong would enroll recruits in insurance policies without their knowledge or permission. According to reports, he took advantage of the identification and payment details they supplied while enrolling in his classes. Afterwards, he paid back the recruits for the first month’s premium, and they dropped the coverage.
Oppong confessed to refunding 29 policies to 22 enforcement holders during an interview with the FSRA in 2022. It was determined that he had received approximately $39,600 from these plans.
Falsely getting premium payments carries an extra $10,000 penalty on top of the $40,000 for premium reimbursements, $10,000 for using undue influence and coercion to obtain insurance business, and $10,000 for all three cases combined.
While working under contract with Greatway Financial Inc., Oppong started recruiting people. Between 2020 and 2022, he held the license of a life agent.
It has been reported by FSRA that Greatway has taken legal action in order to recoup the funds that were lost due to Oppong’s decisions.
Life insurance licensing eligibility requirements were updated in November by the FSRA. Following the revelation of “troubling” agent activities and MGA violations in compliance reports, the sector is set to be subject to enhanced regulation, which includes this measure.
Three MGAs were named in the reports: Greatway, Experior Financial Inc., and World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Canada.
