Ontario’s financial services regulator has imposed administrative penalties amounting to $60,000 on a former life insurance agent accused of running a recruitment scheme.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) said in a notice that Chris Oppong “took advantage” of the people he had recruited to join his sales team to generate business for himself.
According to the notice, Oppong sometimes required these recruits to purchase an insurance policy as a condition to joining his training courses.
There were also instances when Oppong enrolled recruits in insurance polices without their knowledge or consent. He reportedly used the personal and financial information they provided when they signed up for his courses. He later reimbursed the recruits for the initial month’s premium, who then let these policies lapse.
When he was interviewed by the FSRA in 2022, Oppong admitted to reimbursing 29 policies belonging to 22 policing holders. He was found to have received around $39,600 from these policies.
The penalties imposed by FSRA include $40,000 for premium reimbursements, $10,000 for using coercion and undue influence to secure insurance business, and an additional $10,000 for fraudulently obtaining premium payments.
Oppong began recruiting individuals when he was contracted with the managing general agent (MGA) Greatway Financial Inc. He was previously licensed as a life agent from 2020 to 2022.
According to FSRA, Greatway has initiated civil action to recover the amount it lost from Oppong’s actions.
The FSRA has proposed new guidance for licensing suitability requirements in life insurance last November. The move is part of a broader plan to strengthen oversight in the sector after compliance reports unveiled “troubling” agent practices and MGA breaches.
Greatway was one of the MGAs named in the reports, as well as World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Canada and Experior Financial Inc.
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