Vancouver penthouse party host banned from working in investment industry

VPD officers seen through the apartment's peephole (Mo Movassaghi/Submitted)

A Vancouver man who gained notoriety during the pandemic for flouting COVID-19 restrictions to host extravagant penthouse parties has been banned from working in Canada’s investment industry for life.

Former investment advisor Mohammad Movassaghi has been permanently banned from registration with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, according to a decision issued by the organization this month.

The former advisor at Harbourfront Wealth Management will also have to pay $160,000 in fines for client forgeries and misrepresentations to IIROC during the investigation. Movassaghi falsified client signatures on account documents in 2016, and apparently misled enforcement staff in sworn interviews.

You might also like:

These professional sanctions don’t appear to be related to Movassaghi’s other fines associated with his days running what police called a “makeshift nightclub” in 2020 and 2021.

Movassaghi used his 1,100-square-foot Richards Street apartment to host dozens of mask-less people for illegal parties. Police said they found a DJ booth, a dance pole, menus, tables, point-of-sale terminals, and cash tills inside.

The 43-year-old host was arrested under the Public Health Act and was sentenced to one day in prison after serving 10 days pre-sentence. More than $17,000 in fines were issued to Movassaghi and his guests over the January 2021 bust.

People who were sympathetic to Movassaghi launched an online fundraiser that gathered $100,000 to support the party host.

Movassaghi went back to hosting parties that summer, and was arrested again in November 2021. The second time, Movassaghi was sentenced to 29 days in prison, 12 days of probation, and given a $10,000 fine.