MML Investors Services Broker Suspended by FINRA for Forging Customer’s Signature
Thomas Leone, a broker formerly registered with MML Investors Services, 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 forged a customer’s signature on life insurance applications and falsified a payment authorization form without the customer’s authorization. Thomas John Leone, of West Simsbury, Connecticut, was found by FINRA to have forged his customer’s signature on a life insurance application by electronically affixing a signature copy onto multiple documents. Further, Mr. Leone arranged for payment of the insurance premiums by completing a payment authorization form that the customer’s husband had previously pre-signed on an unrelated policy application and submitted this form without customer authorization, causing payments to be debited from his bank account. For violating FINRA Rule 2010, which requires FINRA members to observe high standards of commercial honor, FINRA fined Mr. Leone $5,000 and suspended him for 12 months.
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