Former Morgan Stanley Advisor Faces FINRA Action Over Undisclosed Loans from Elderly Client

Posted on December 8th, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Former Morgan Stanley Advisor Faces FINRA Action Over Undisclosed Loans from Elderly Client

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law

FINRA filed a complaint against former Morgan Stanley advisor Kirk J. Crossen, alleging that he borrowed $400,000 from an 84-year-old customer experiencing early-stage dementia and concealed the loans from his firm. According to AdvisorHub, FINRA alleges that he never sought or received the approvals required under Morgan Stanley’s policies.

FINRA stated that Crossen received two checks totaling $200,000 in February 2022 and later took an additional $200,000 through separate checks in May 2022 and January 2023. During this period, he certified on firm compliance questionnaires that he had not borrowed from any non-family clients without approval. As reported by AdvisorHub, Crossen repaid the loans with $5,000 in interest in May 2023 after a family member of the client contacted him about the transactions. One month later, the client was deemed unable to manage his financial affairs because of a dementia diagnosis.

The complaint alleges violations of FINRA Rule 3240, which prohibits impermissible borrowing from customers, and FINRA Rule 2010, which bars false attestations. AdvisorHub reports that FINRA did not assert claims of elder abuse. Crossen, who later joined Raymond James, resigned from Morgan Stanley in April 2023. According to AdvisorHub, Raymond James terminated him in November 2023 after determining that he lacked candor when questioned about the loans.

Crossen’s regulatory record reflects additional issues. FINRA suspended him in May for failing to comply with an arbitration award requiring repayment of nearly $2.6 million to Raymond James related to recruiting loans. AdvisorHub’s review of his BrokerCheck history also shows two pending customer claims, including an April complaint from his former spouse seeking over $872,000 and an October 2023 customer complaint seeking $6 million for alleged unsuitable investments.

 

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

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, finra, morgan stanley

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

We just wanted to say thanks for your work in helping us get back some of the money we lost. We are not by any means rich, but we have saved some money and we have done so through a tight-fisted approach to most everything we do. So losing a significant chunk of money hurt…especially at a time when everyone else was growing their accounts. We really appreciate the work you did.

Allan and Adele

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

December 22, 2025
FINRA Overhauls Arbitration Rules to Rebalance Arbitrator Selection and Codify Forum Practices

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has approved significant amendments to its Codes of Arbitration Procedure designed to rebalance public arbitrator selection, increase transparency, and formalize several long-standing practices in the arbitration forum.

December 19, 2025
Industry Groups Press Senate at Advance Financial Exploitation Prevention Act

Several industry associations are urging the U.S. Senate to pass the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act, legislation that would allow mutual fund companies and their transfer agents to delay redemptions when they reasonably suspect elder financial abuse.

December 18, 2025
UBS Warns of Rising Default Risk in Private Credit

A UBS report signals that credit stress likely will intensify next year as borrowers confront inflation, elevated interest costs, and softening consumer conditions.