Darnell Kenneth Mote submitted a Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent (AWC) to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in which he was suspended from association with any FINRA member in all capacities for 20 days and fined $5,000.
In June 2012, Mr. Mote joined the securities industry and became associated with Wells Fargo Advisors. According to FINRA, the firm filed a Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Registration reporting Mote’s termination on November 4, 2015. Mr. Mote allegedly engaged in outside business activity without providing notice to his firm. The firm’s policies require all associated persons to seek approval in writing before engaging in outside activity, which is what Mr. Mote failed to do.
FINRA Rule 3270 states that “[n]o registered person may be an employee, independent contractor, sole proprietor, officer, director or partner of another person, or be compensated, or have the reasonable expectation of compensation, from any other person as a result of any business activity outside the scope of the relationship with his or her member Firm, unless he or she has provided prior written notice to the member, in such form as specified by the member.”
Stockbrokers have been known to engage in many practices that may violate industry and firm rules, practices, and procedures. In order to protect investors from stockbroker misconduct, FINRA rules require brokerage firms to establish and implement a supervisory system. The implementation of these industry rules requires supervisors to monitor their employees to ensure compliance with federal and state securities laws, securities industry rules and regulations, and the brokerage firm’s own policies and procedures. If broker-dealers and/or their supervisors fail to establish and implement these protective measures, they may be liable to investors for damages which flow from the broker’s misconduct. Therefore, investors who have suffered losses stemming from misconduct by their broker can file claims to recover damages against broker-dealers, like Wells Fargo which should consistently oversee its brokers’ activities in order to prevent the misconduct.
Have you suffered losses in your Wells Fargo account due to misconduct by your broker? If so, call Robert Pearce at the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. for a free consultation. Mr. Pearce is accepting clients with valid claims against Wells Fargo stockbrokers who may have engaged in broker misconduct and caused investors’ losses.
The most important of investors’ rights is the right to be informed! This Investors’ Rights blog post is by the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., located in Boca Raton, Florida. For over 40 years, Attorney Pearce has tried, arbitrated, and mediated hundreds of disputes involving complex securities, commodities and investment law issues. The lawyers at our law firm are devoted to protecting investors’ rights throughout the United States and internationally! Please visit our website, www.secatty.com, post a comment, call (800) 732-2889, or email Mr. Pearce at pearce@rwpearce.com for answers to any of your questions about this blog post and/or any related matter.