The woman at the centre of a trading probe
Eda Marie Agueci climbed her way from a childhood in a rough end of Toronto to a post at a blue-chip Bay Street firm that allowed her to mingle with Corporate Canada’s elite.
But now Ms. Agueci, who won high praise for her friendliness and charm over two decades as a high-level administrative assistant, is facing allegations that she orchestrated an insider trading ring that included family members and powerful friends such as Dennis Wing, co-founder of First Marathon Securities. Also caught up in the scandal is mining legend Ian Telfer, who has been accused by the Ontario Securities Commission of helping Ms. Agueci hide some of her trades.
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Mr. Telfer has denied the allegations, as have the others, and none of the OSC’s allegations have been proven in court. “She’s devastated,” said Joanna Andros, a long-time friend of Ms. Agueci’s. “She’s the sweetest, nicest person you could meet.”
Ms. Agueci, who has been suspended from her job at GMP Securities, declined comment. But records searches and interviews with former colleagues portray a woman well-liked by co-workers, coping with debt and searching for self-improvement.
Born in 1963, Ms. Agueci told friends she grew up in Scarborough and didn’t attend college. She found her way into the investment world in the early 1990s and soon became an executive assistant at First Marathon, an independent securities firm that financed startup companies, racked up big profits on its trading desks and was known for throwing wild parties after hours.
Many people interviewed for this story said that while Ms. Agueci wasn’t regarded as the most proficient administrator, she was very popular among employees and clients. One of her former managers said her phone rang constantly with enquiries from friends and associates about a variety of social events.
On one occasion she was so overwhelmed preparing a document for a pending financing that the manager had to step in to answer her phone. “While she typed I took her calls,” said the manager, who declined to be identified.
At First Marathon she worked as an assistant to co-founder Rick Hallisey. She also met Mr. Wing at the firm as well as Kimberley Stephany, who has also been named in the OSC allegations. Mr. Wing also knows Mr. Telfer well, having served on the board of Vengold Inc., which Mr. Telfer headed as CEO.
Ms. Agueci eventually moved on to GMP Securities LP and became executive assistant to the firm’s chairman, Eugene McBurney, who also ran the mining group. Once at GMP she ventured out from her strictly administrative duties and participated in a handful of private placements in some junior mining companies.
The OSC alleges that by 2007, Ms. Agueci was passing along tips about pending GMP mining deals to a network of family and friends. She also allegedly impersonated her mother in order to execute trades through her mother’s brokerage account. The OSC alleges Ms. Agueci pocketed nearly $1-million from the trades and payments from Mr. Wing.
Property records show that in 2010 Ms. Agueci had bought a $605,000 condo in downtown Toronto. She took out a $221,000 mortgage, had it discharged by a $660,000 mortgage and then took out a $180,000 mortgage last year that had a rate of 10 per cent.
Friends say that away from work, Ms. Agueci was a lively friend fascinated with improving herself. She took several “Courageous Living” courses run by Ms. Andros which focus on helping women empower themselves. Ms. Andros said Ms. Agueci frequently brought several friends along.
“Thanks so much for the incredible day you put on ... we got so much out of it!,” Ms. Agueci says on a testimonial on the company’s website. “Thank you, Thank you! It was so worthwhile – my friend can’t stop talking about what she got out of it.”
Toronto media personality and event planner Susanne Seelig-Mense said she socialized with Ms. Agueci and described her as “a lovely girl.” “We’d go to some of the bars and stuff,” Ms. Seelig-Mense said. “We never really spoke about [her business] but she seemed to know everybody.”
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