FINRA Suspends Former Gradient Securities Advisor
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has suspended former Gradient Securities representative Mark J. Hudec for three months and fined him $5,000 for forging customer initials and a customer signature on account-opening documents.
ThinkAdvisor reports that Hudec allegedly forged the initials of three customers on their brokerage account opening forms and forged another customer's signature on a form required to open an investment advisory account. The conduct violated FINRA Rule 2010.
In September 2025, Hudec sent brokerage account opening forms to three customers after joining Gradient Securities. According to ThimkAdvisor, the customers partially completed and signed the forms. After the firm rejected the forms because they lacked required information, Hudec added the missing information, forged the customers' initials next to the changes, and resubmitted the forms without first obtaining their permission, according to FINRA.
The following month, Hudec forged another customer's signature on a document required to open an investment advisory account. The document included an acknowledgment that the customer had received information about fees and expenses and had considered the costs and benefits of opening the advisory account, according to the Acceptance, Waiver and Consent ("AWC") signed by the parties.
On October 8, 2025, Gradient Securities filed a Form U5 stating that Hudec had been permitted to resign after the firm learned that he had initialed a document on behalf of a client.
Hudec accepted and consented to FINRA's findings in the AWC without admitting or denying them. According to ThinkAdvisor, FINRA stated that none of the customers involved filed a complaint concerning the conduct.
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