FINRA Bars Former Securities America Advisor for Signing Deceased Client’s Name
From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:
According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), an ex-Securities American advisor has been barred after allegedly signing his deceased client’s name on several documents while declining to cooperate with FINRA’s investigation. William Dixon, without admitting or denying FINRA’s findings, signed a FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”) on April 27. According to Dixon’s BrokerCheck report, he was associated with Advisor Group’s Securities America division as a securities representative from September 2016 through October 2019.
According to the employment termination notice (Form U-5) filed by Securities America, Dixon “admitted to the alleged activity and was subsequently discharged for violating the Firm’s policies and procedures regarding the use of nongenuine client signatures”. FINRA began its investigation into Dixon’s termination in October 2019, which led to FINRA’s sending Dixon a request for the production of documents pursuant to FINRA Rule 8210. After confirming that Dixon had received FINRA’s request, Dixon claimed that he would choose not to produce the required documents. This constituted a violation of FINRA Rules 8210 and 2010, which commonly leads to a bar from the organization.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.
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