FINRA BARS BROKERS WHO MISTREATED ELDERLY CLIENTS
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) barred two brokers who allegedly committed infractions by treating elderly clients poorly and failure to cooperate with FINRA’s investigations into their actions.
Neither denying not admitting the allegations, John Joseph Cahill and Stephen Carver each signed FINRA letter of acceptance, waiver and consent in which they agreed to be barred from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity. The letter, acknowledged by FINRA on January 2nd was signed by Carver on December 10th, while Cahill signed on Dec 11th.
Cahill’s Career
According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, in a March 13, 2012 settlement with a customer who accused Cahill of making unsuitable investments from October 2008 to March 2010, there was a $42,100 settlement payout, and was made to resign from the firm in August, 2013 due to “allegations relating to employee’s compliance” with the firm’s policy for clients approval, prior to executing securities transactions.
Joining Janney Montgomery Scott later in 2013, he was discharged from that firm on March 1, 2019, while he was under internal review over his receipt of funds while acting under a power of attorney for a client at his prior firm and failure to report his fiduciary relationship with the former client. In December 2019, Cahill also violated FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010 by withholding documents and information, likewise on-the-record testimony requested by its investigation into Cahill’s “potential commingling and/or conversion of funds belonging to an elderly individual who was Cahill’s customer at his previous firm.
Carver’s Career Trail
Carver was registered with FINRA in 1992, as a broker at Dean Witter Reynolds, according to his BrokerCheck profile. He proceeded to work as a broker with seven other firms, including Baird & Co. from 2000 to 2002, LPL Financial from 2002 to 2009 and LifeMark Securities from 2017 to 2018. About 10 disclosures were listed on his BrokerCheck profile for the course of his 26-year broker career. First, he resigned from Baird in October, 2002, after a customer complained that he made an unauthorized trade in his account, according to FINRA. His resignation from LPL in January 29, 2009, after the firm reviewed documents indicating he was involved in an outside business activity without the prior written approval of the firm.
In addition, Cetera Advisors discharged Carver on Sept. 19, 2017, for firm policy violation for non-disclosure of gifts from a client. In a broker comment listed on his BrokerCheck profile for that disclosure, Carver admitted the client was his 87-year-old uncle and he was a co-signee on his bank account to pay his uncle’s bills and manage expenses. “In return he gave me some compensation for doing this for him’’. Thereafter, he was accused of “elder abuse” in a 2018 customer pending dispute in which the claimant requested damages of $9.3 million.
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