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Award Date: August 25, 2021
Claimant Representative: Tad Burton, J.D.
Case Objective:
An east coast-based advisor sought to expunge a nonsensical criminal disclosure from her public records through FINRA Registration.
Case Summary:
In 2005, the advisor was working as a volunteer at a community center. A community member who was a regular at the center was having difficulty with her finances. The advisor assisted the customer with setting up a loan, for which the advisor received a commission, pursuant to her employment compensation agreement. The customer later returned, stated that she no longer wanted the loan, and requested that it be canceled immediately. Typically, such cancellations required a 60-day notice. Because the customer wanted the loan canceled before 60 days elapsed, the advisor obtained supervisory approval to cancel it on behalf of the customer. The commission that the customer had paid to the advisor was paid back to the customer, plus any interest that was due to the customer.
On a subsequent Friday, a police officer arrested and charged the advisor with felony grand larceny. The advisor spent the weekend in jail. In order to be released without having to pay a large bond, the advisor agreed to a lesser charge of a misdemeanor. Ultimately, the advisor’s case was resolved as disorderly conduct — a non-criminal charge. The matter was then sealed under New York law. However, it remained a criminal disclosure on the advisor’s CRD record for more than 15 years.
Result:
AdvisorLaw’s Tad Burton, J.D. sought expungement of the criminal disclosure through FINRA Registration through written correspondence. He explained the background of the situation and what transpired that led to the disclosure. Documents and an explanation were provided to Registration, showing that the matter was in fact not criminal, that it had been sealed, and why.
In just over three weeks’ time, FINRA responded that it had reviewed the matter and the advisor’s dispute regarding the criminal disclosure and that the request had been approved. FINRA simply removed the matter from the advisor’s record and sent a second letter the following day confirming that the expungement had been completed.