Stockbroker Unauthorized Trading Lawyer - Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce

Oct 27, 2017

FINRA Fines and Suspends Former Wells Fargo Broker for Discretionary Trade Violations

Frank Tegge, a registered representative formerly employed with Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he exercised discretion in customer accounts without the necessary prior written authorization. FINRA found that Frank Allen Tegge, of DeWitt, Michigan, failed to obtain the necessary written authorization from his customer or his member firm when he exercised his discretion and placed orders in customer’s accounts. According to FINRA, Mr. Tegge placed 64 discretionary transactions in two customer accounts without written authorization from the customer. Further, FINRA found that Mr. Tegge executed a discretionary transaction in another customer’s account without the customer’s prior authorization, placing the trade after speaking with the spouse, who had no authority to authorize any trading in the account.

Jan 18, 2017

FINRA Fines and Suspends Former Morgan Stanley Broker for Discretionary Trade Violations

Tom Puentes, a former registered representative with the Langley, Washington branch of Morgan Stanley, submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he entered discretionary trades in at least fourteen customer accounts without the necessary prior written authorization. FINRA found that Tom Abel Puentes, of Langley, Washington, failed to obtain the necessary written authorization from his customers or his member firm when he exercised time and price discretion in the accounts of fourteen customers. According to FINRA, Mr. Puentes exercised discretion to purchase municipal bonds on approximately 220 occasions in his customers’ accounts, in contravention of his firm’s policies. Further, Mr. Puentes falsely answered “no” on his firm’s annual compliance questionnaire to the question asking if he had any accounts in which business is transacted on a discretionary basis.