FINRA Suspends Former Morgan Stanley Advisor Who Solicited Venture Capital Investment

Posted on May 23rd, 2022 at 3:09 PM
FINRA Suspends Former Morgan Stanley Advisor Who Solicited Venture Capital Investment

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law:

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has suspended a former Morgan Stanley advisor for allegedly misleading investors regarding a private placement sold by the firm.

The California-based advisor, Nikolay Zotenko, received a one-year suspension and $10,000 fine for the violations. According to FINRA, Zotenko sent prospective retail investors at least 1,150 emails and messages in 2021 pertaining to a private placement he touted as an “Exclusive Venture Capital Investment Opportunity”, which was “typically closed to new investors.” Zotenko allegedly overhyped the investment, which was purportedly expected to generate returns that “far exceeded the industry average”, and concealed the risks of the speculative investment from investors, according to FINRA. 

Zotenko consented to the suspension without admitting or denying any of FINRA’s investigatory findings. After sending prospective investors nearly 600 emails through his Morgan Stanley account in February 2021, Zotenko sought the firm’s approval of the messages, which was denied because compliance officials said the emails contained “several issues” as well as “impermissible promissory statements”, according to FINRA. Nevertheless, Zotenko proceeded to send an additional 550 emails to prospective investors via Morgan Stanley’s internal system.

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

 
 
 
 

Tags: eccleston law, morgan stanley, finra

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

The work that you and your team have performed on my behalf is exemplary.

JT

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

December 4, 2025
Webull Faces Scrutiny After Alleged Account Breach and Penny Stock Manipulation

An emerging investigation into Webull Financial centers on allegations that an unauthorized third party infiltrated the firm’s security systems, accessed customer brokerage accounts, liquidated existing holdings, and used the proceeds to purchase shares of Ten-League International Holdings Ltd.

December 3, 2025
FINRA Sanctions Former Morgan Stanley Broker Over Unauthorized Transfers

A longtime Morgan Stanley financial advisor agreed to a $5,000 fine and a two-month suspension after FINRA found that he executed multiple transfers from his former spouse’s retirement account without proper authorization, as reported by AdvisorHub.

December 2, 2025
Crypto's Leverage Shakeout Exposes Structural Risks

The crypto market’s recent downturn erased nearly $20 billion in leveraged positions within hours and half a trillion dollars in market value over a single weekend.