Robert Stewart Fined & Suspended by FINRA

On February 2, 2017, Robert Stewart (CRD #5746657, Dewey, Arizona) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (“AWC”) in which he was assessed a deferred fine of $7,500 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for four months.

Without admitting or denying the findings, Robert Stewart consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he falsified documents and caused his member firm to have inaccurate books and records by submitting customer account transfer forms using photocopied signatures. The findings stated that Robert Stewart obtained customer signatures on blank account transfer forms and attached photocopies of the corresponding signature pages to other account transfer forms he completed and submitted to the firm. Stewart submitted to the firm customer account transfer forms that these customers did not actually sign (or review) and caused the firm to maintain documents that inaccurately appeared to have been signed by customers. The findings also stated that Robert Stewart exercised discretion by accepting the instructions of unauthorized third-parties and failing to confirm the customer orders.

On several occasions, Stewart received trading instructions concerning customer accounts via email from non-FINRA registered employees of the banking affiliate of his firm. Stewart placed the trades relayed without contacting the respective customers to confirm, and on one such occasion, this resulted in duplicate orders being placed in a customer account. Stewart did not have written discretionary authority over the customer accounts at issue, and the bank employees were not authorized third-parties on the customer accounts.

For further information about this securities law blog post, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956 or by email at [email protected]. This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute, legal and compliance advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Hamilton & Associates | Securities Lawyers
Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney
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