rogue brokers

Dallas, Texas-Based Wells Fargo Broker Expelled by FINRA

Published on: August 30, 2018 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has barred J. Gordon Cloutier, Jr. (Cloutier), a former Wells-Fargo (WFC) broker based in the Dallas area of Frisco, Texas, after he allegedly tried to make an unauthorized trade and requested a loan from a client. Cloutier, who had worked at the firm for seven years, was fired in 2016. Previous to working with Wells Fargo, Cloutier was a Merrill Lynch broker, which is now a division of Bank of America (BAC), from 1996 to 2009. FINRA ultimately barred Cloutier after he failed to respond to numerous attempts by the self-regulatory organization to interview him for its probe. It is FINRA’s policy to open an investigation after a broker is let go from a firm. It was Cloutier’s lack of response that led to FINRA issuing the default bar from the industry.

At Shepherd Smith Edwards and Kantas LLP, our Texas broker fraud law firm represents investors in helping them to recoup their losses sustained due to broker misconduct, negligence, or carelessness. Over the years, we have successfully helped thousands of investors from our Houston offices. If you were an investors who worked with Cloutier, our Wells Fargo investor fraud attorneys want to hear from you.

Broker Fraud

FINRA Promises To Take Tougher Stance With Rogue Brokers

Published on: June 14, 2017 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory has barred Lawrence M. Thomas, an ex-Woodbury Financial Services Inc. broker who was under investigation for unauthorized product sales. Thomas was previously registered with Essex Securities.

Last year, Thomas was fined $5K and suspended for three months after he consented to findings that he told an assistant to forge three customers’ signatures on about 10 documents. FINRA had been looking into whether Thomas recommended to Woodbury clients that they purchase an unauthorized product. The self-regulatory organization barred him after he failed to testify in FINRA’s investigation into the claims.

In an unrelated FINRA case, the SRO has filed charges against Kim Dee Isaacson, an ex-Morgan Stanley (MS) broker, for allegedly misleading a client about the size of his account, engaging in unauthorized trading, and attempting to resolve these issues directly with the client instead of along with the firm. According to FINRA, Isaacson told the client that the account was valued at $3.1M even though that was false.

Massachusetts Regulator Accuses Broker-Dealers of Not Properly Supervising Rogue Brokers

Published on: December 9, 2016 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to the Massachusetts Securities Division, brokerage firms that hire brokers with troubled disciplinary records are not doing a proper job of supervising them. The state, which recently released its findings from its examination of 241 broker-dealers who are registered in the state and retain an above average number of rogue brokers, said that this relaxed way of self-policing could be harming investors.

According to the division’s report, not a lot of these brokers were put on more rigorous supervision despite their questionable pasts. Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin said that it appeared to his office that certain firms were not willing to take on the duty of “zealously monitoring” the way these brokers were interacting customers.

It was in June that the Massachusetts Securities Division announced it was cracking down on broker-dealers who hired rogue brokers. The news of its sweep came soon after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced it was conducting its own probe.