AdvisorLaw Wins Unanimous FINRA Expungement for False Liquidity Allegations

• Case Outcome: A FINRA arbitration panel unanimously granted the expungement of a false misrepresentation claim against a Pennsylvania advisor.
• Key Regulation: Relief was granted under FINRA Rule 2080, with the panel ruling the allegations were "factually impossible" and "false."
• The Allegation: A 2021 customer complaint falsely claimed the advisor misrepresented the liquidity terms of a MassMutual annuity.
• Representation: The advisor was represented by Dochtor Kennedy, MBA, J.D., and Jennifer Cox, Esq. of AdvisorLaw.
• Impact: The ruling clears the advisor’s 15-year "pristine" record on CRD and BrokerCheck.

A Pennsylvania-based financial advisor with an impeccable 15-year record encountered a solitary, meritless customer dispute rooted in apparent buyer’s regret. The 2021 complaint baselessly accused the advisor of misrepresenting an annuity’s liquidity terms. With AdvisorLaw’s guidance, the advisor sought FINRA arbitration to eradicate this unfounded mark from her professional record.

The advisor commenced her stellar career in March 2011, registering with MML Investors Services, LLC, where she remains active. In February 2014, a retiring couple was referred by an existing client. Earning about $55,960 annually, with a liquid net worth of $180,000 and total assets of $350,000, the couple exhibited moderate investment experience. Their goal was to obtain a comprehensive retirement strategy that blended the wife’s conservative stance with the husband\s risk appetite. They planned to fund the investments with the wife’s Social Security and the husband’s business income. They had minimal liquidity demands.

Collaborating with her father and partner, the advisor provided the couple with tailored recommendations, including mutual funds and the MassMutual RetireEase Choice Income Annuity. The advisor and her father meticulously detailed the annuity’s features, including lifetime income guarantees, death benefits, and no withdrawal provisions, via discussions, prospectus, and signed disclosures. On April 1, 2016, the wife invested $96,391.44 in the joint-and-survivor version, affirming her comprehension and access to $72,000 in separate emergency funds.

The advisor conducted routine portfolio reviews until March 2021, when the couple transferred their accounts after being influenced by a rival advisor at WesBanco, Inc. They then lodged a complaint alleging undisclosed principal inaccessibility. The firm investigated and rejected the claim on April 23, 2021. The customers declined to take any further action.

This lone disclosure tainted the advisor’s pristine CRD and BrokerCheck profiles ever since.

The advisor filed for expungement on May 14, 2025. The respondent filed a non-oppositional answer on July 15, 2025. The notified customer opted not to participate. 

A three-arbitrator Panel held a videoconference hearing in Pittsburgh on January 27, 2026. The Panel reviewed pleadings, testimony, expert insights, and exhibits evidencing full disclosures. They listened to arguments presented by Dochtor Kennedy, MBA, J.D., and Jennifer Cox, Esq., as well, and unanimously granted relief under FINRA Rule 2080. As stated in the award: “The claim, allegation, or information is factually impossible or clearly erroneous; and the claim, allegation, or information is false.” Further, “The…letter of complaint dated 4/21/16 to Mass Mutual, was factually impossible and clearly erroneous and false... The customer had 30 days after signing off on all disclosures to rescind and failed to do so... Customer’s assertions were false, impossible, and erroneous... The claimant and expert witness convinced the panel with credible evidence that the customer had no basis in fact for her assertions, and the exhibits supported the claimant’s testimony as well... The customer’s complaint was denied and rejected by the Respondent and Mass Mutual.”

The decision allows removal of all references to the occurrence, vindicating the advisor’s integrity and dedication to ethical advisement.