FINRA Permanently Bars Miami Securities Broker Who Cost Morgan Stanley $2.5 Million
On March 19th, 2018, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it has permanently barred registered broker Thomas Alan Meier (CRD#: 1146044) from associating with any FINRA member, in any capacity. According to FINRA investigators, Mr. Meier made more than 1,2000 unauthorized trades on at least six different customer accounts.
At the time the misconduct occurred, Thomas Alan Meier was employed as a securities representative for Morgan Stanley in Miami, Florida, a position he held since 2009. In March of 2016, Mr. Meier resigned from Morgan Stanley while under internal investigation by the company. Previously, Mr. Meier worked as a securities broker for Citigroup Global Markets, also based in Miami.
For the complete information related to this case, please refer to the FINRA Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (NO. 2016049628301). All details within this article come directly from the official FINRA documents.
Broker Misconduct: Thomas Alan Meier
The FINRA disciplinary action against Thomas Alan Meier focuses on allegations of unauthorized trading. FINRA investigators point to at least 1,200 unauthorized trades that were discovered in a review. Beyond this misconduct, there are more allegations against this broker. To date, there have been 14 different complaints brought by investors against Mr. Meier. As of March 2018, all 14 of these complaints are listed as ‘settled’ in FINRA’s official records. Below is a brief overview of the customer complaints:
- Misrepresentation regarding investments and liquidity: Settled for $497,245.90
- Misrepresentation with respect to investments: Settled for $215,000.00
- Unauthorized transactions and excessive trades (churning): Settled for $366,577.25
- Unauthorized trading on elderly customer’s account: Settled for $50,000.00
- Misrepresentation of certain investment opportunities: Settled for $40,580.00
- Financial advisor acted irresponsibly when investing: Settled for $90,000.00
- Unauthorized trades and unsuitable investments: Settled for $37,610.00
- Breach of fiduciary duty and broker negligence: Settled for $300,000.00
- Inappropriate recommendations of risky, unsuitable investments: Settled for $60,000.00
- Unsuitable recommendations and trades: Settled for $250,000.00
- Overconcentration of risky energy sector investments: Settled for $80,000.00
- Lack diversification of investment and unsuitable trades: Settled for $65,000.00
- Breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and unauthorized transactions: Settled for $450,000.00
- Unsuitable investment recommendations and unauthorized trades: Settled for $49,999.00
It must be noted that these claims were settled without any admission or denial of wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Meier or his member firm, Morgan Stanley. Though, the extent of the alleged misconduct is striking. In all, Morgan Stanley has paid out more than $2.5 million thus far to settlement broker negligence and investment fraud claims against Thomas Alan Meier.
Contact Our Miami Unauthorized Trading Attorneys Today
At Carlson & Associates, P.A, our dedicated Miami investment fraud lawyers have extensive experience handling complex unauthorized trading claims. If you sustained losses due to transactions that you did not authorize, we can help. For a private case evaluation, please do not hesitate to call us today at 1-(305)-372-9700 or to contact us through our website.
Resources:
brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1146044
finra.org/sites/default/files/fda_documents/2016049628301%20Thomas%20Alan%20Meier%20CRD%201146044%20AWC%20jm.pdf