An irreverent Wall Street Blog
by Bill Singer

Elderly Customer's Signature Submitted Three Days After His Death

April 25, 2013

For the purpose of proposing a settlement of rule violations alleged by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"), without admitting or denying the findings, prior to a regulatory hearing, and without an adjudication of any issue, Michael J. Woods submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent ("AWC"), which FINRA accepted. In the Matter of Michael J. Woods, Respondent (AWC 2011027621801, April 23, 2013).

Woods first became registered with FINRA in 1998; and during the relevant period of 2005 through June 15, 2011, he was registered with FINRA member firm Fortune Financial Services.  The AWC asserts that Woods did not have any prior  relevant disciplinary history with the Securities and Exchange  Commission, any self-regulatory organization or any state securities regulator.

Signing For Elderly Customer

Between March 2007 and September 2007, Woods serviced the account of an arthritic, 78-year-old customer, who the stockbroker apparently believed needed help to manage his affairs. The AWC alleges that Woods obtained signature authority on this customer's bank account and in exchange for fees totaling at least $1,500, Woods wrote checks to pay the customer's monthly bills. Based on this conduct, the AWC asserts that Woods violated NASD Conduct Rules 3030 and 2110.

Post Mortem

Additionally, in September 2007 Woods allegedly photocopied the elderly customer's signature from a previously signed variable annuity withdrawal form, and the stockbroker dated the new form, and submitted it to the annuity issuer. All of which might not have presented a problem for FINRA but for the fact that Woods submitted the document three days after the customer's death. Moreover, the AWC alleges that the withdrawn monies were deposited into deceased customer's bank account, which Woods then controlled as the trustee of the customer's trust. Thereafter, the AWC alleges that on September 3 and 14, 2007, and October 9, 2007, Woods issued checks drawn from that bank account to pay himself fees for "estate services" that he rendered as trustee. Based on this conduct, the AWC asserts that Woods violated NASD Conduct Rule 2110.

Taxing Problems

Finally, the AWC alleges that Woods failed to disclose until April 2011, federal tax liens that were levied in 2006 and 2007, in apparent violation of NASD Conduct Rule 2110 (for conduct before December 15, 2008), NASD IM-1000-1 (for conduct before August 17,2009), and FINRA Rules 1122 (for conduct after August 16, 2009) and 2010 (for conduct after December 14, 2008).

Summing It All Up

According to online FINRA records as of April 26, 2013, on June 15, 2011, Woods voluntarily resigned from Fortune Financial Services. 

In accordance with the terms of the AWC, FINRA imposed upon Woods a $20,000 fine and a 2 year suspension from associating with any FINRA member firm in any and all capacities.

Also READ these articles involving elderly customers:

    Permalink

    Search BrokeAndBroker

    Related Topics

    Previous Entries

    Tag Cloud

    Bill Singer BrokeAndBroker FINRA Arbitration AWC SEC BrokeAndBroker.com Expungement BrokerAndBroker Employment Guest Blog Guest Blogger Wells Fargo Street Sweeper Bill SInger Jobs Aegis Frumento OBA U5 Fraud Promissory Note U4 Email Merrill Lynch Morgan Stanley UBS EFL Defamation Elderly Wire Fraud CRD Statutory Disqualification InSecurities OHO BrokeAndBroker PST Suitability FBI Forbes Whistleblower NAC Ponzi Rule 3270 ALJ Citigroup DOJ Supervision Borrowing BrokerCheck Form U4 IRS OIP SDNY Supreme Court Expenses Willful Outside Business Activity Pro Se Bank Felony Ameriprise Wrongful Termination WSP Rule 2080 Securities Industry Commentator Form U5 Rule 8210 IRA Discretion Wachovia Dodd Frank Rule 2010 RIA Discovery Business Expenses NASD Mail Fraud Wife JP Morgan Raymond James Insider Trading Bar Punitive Damages Conversion Husband CCO Rule 1122 TRO Checks Forgery Settlement Estate LPL Rule 3240 Willfulness Edward Jones Bankruptcy Trump Tax Commissions Employment Tuesday Outside Business Activities Margin Credit Card NYSE Stephen Kohn 2Cir Schwab Madoff Frumento Insurance arbitration Promissory Notes Rule 3040 Wall Street Beneficiary Private Securities Transaction Corrective Action Statement Annuities Small Firm Rule 3280 Facebook Impersonation Options Injunction Real Estate Indictment Antitrust Bank of America Tax Liens Power of Attorney Customer FAA Trust Rule 12206 CFTC Tax Lien Remand Exam ETF Spouse Stay Street Legal Test ATM Mortgage Due Diligence SRO Misdemeanor Complaint Trustee Offer of Settlement OTR COVID Barclays Signature Rule 2510 ACQ Solicitation Explained Decision Annuity Sanctions Goldman Sachs Case In Point VA Wire Crypto POA email Away Account ARS Securities Fraud Jurisdiction Eligibility Rule Spouses Rule 4511 NASDAQ Motion to Dismiss Initial Decision OWB Appeal Lien Retaliation Schapiro Loan Rule 12200 NSF E*Trade Liens 9Cir Mandatory Arbitration T&P Employee Forgivable Loan Unauthorized Discretion JPMorgan Rule 4530 DCCir Blockchain Burris Money Laundering Conspiracy Signatures HFT RBC Bonus PCAOB Great Recession Deutsche Bank NASAA Reg SP Cease And Desist Fidelity Discrimination Manifest Disregard Dissent LOA AML TD Ameritrade Reimbursement Fiduciary Continuing Education REIT Retirement Compliance Failure to Supervise Unfair Competition Flash Crash Disgorgement Rule 3010 Class Action Undisclosed Settlement Severance Huffington Post Chase expungement Scottrade Broker Protocol Motion to Vacate Willfully Divorce Unsuitability Credit Cards Personal Expenses Hacking Vacatur Registered Rep Magazine RRBDLAW.com Bharara Variable Annuity Malware Lehman Brothers Identity Theft MSSB Cryptocurrency Gallagher CRS BD Rule 3050 Bitcoin SDFL Will Unauthorized Trading Board Customer Complaint Deceased Disclosure Hacker brokeandbroker 10Cir MC-400 IAR Wedbush Sexist Away Accounts Lucia FINRA Arbitration Stifel employment Due Process Variable Annuities Self Regulation Website Widow Emails Zipper Wey Stockbrokers Apple Letter of Authorization Coronavirus Annual Compliance Questionnaire Loans Examination Rule 3110 Sexism Private Placement Social Media Spoofing Audit Internet Forex Rule 12805 BrokeAndBroker Bill Singer 2nd Circuit Second Circuit Confidential Information FINOP LIBOR Arbitraiton Prison 3Cir Statute of Limitations PIABA Public Interest Commission Indemnification PNC Brummer WSPs Rule 12904 Lehman Trading Platform Net Capital Credit Suisse BOP jobs FINRA Board Rule 2111 Elder Abuse RMBS Postponement Solicited Rule 2150 Kokesh Fees Dakota Securities Crowdfunding Private Securities Transactions Registration Sanction Guidelines Rule 9552 Bureau of Prisons Marijuana Judgments Bear Stearns Unjust Enrichment BrokeAndBroker.com Blog Telephone Cheating Hedge Fund Hilton Weiner IC3 RRBDlaw.com Robinhood China Whistleblowing Debit Card Imposter Charles Schwab NYAG Newman Motion to Confirm Waiver Time And Price bill singer Diversity FOREX Plea CE Unsolicited TOD Morgan Keegan RR Suspension Bonds Non-Solicitation ADA BrokeandBroker MetLife 4Cir Rakoff Gold Auction Rate Securities Rule 4513 WB-APP Mother Employment Agreement Concentration Series 7 Stifel Nicolaus OSHA Puerto Rico Piwowar Confirm Tortious Interference Obstruction of Justice Elder Fraud Private Placements Board of Governors Protocol Mutual Funds Covid IPO Membership Continuance Statutory Disqualification Committee Charge Lawyer Embezzlement Rule 2210 JPM SunTrust Oppenheimer 11Cir Joshua Brown JOBS Act Small Firm Governor Reg S-P Regulation SP Knight Botkin Racism CPA FNMA DOL 9/11 Rule 2081 CNBC Check Kiting Counterclaim Whistleblowers Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Compensation Restaurant Broke And Broker Testimony Rule 13200 Conflict CEO Pennystock Customer Information Pennystocks Non Solicitation Sales Assistant USERRA MF Global securities industry commentator Executor Confidential Robert Cook Michael King Associates Margin Call Inability to Pay Confidentiality SAC PN NoCA Research Lawyers EIA VIX Aleynikov Biden Michael King Banc of America Rule 12504 Funds Reg D Raiding Wire Transfer Stanford Leveraged ETF Termination Unregistered Shah Gilani Unsuitable Medicare Ketchum Bandimere Immunity TheBlot OIG Rosenthal Recruiting Breach of Contract Charity Taxes Cannabis Enforcement Corruption Rule 13805 Khuzami Feigenbaum Bank Fraud Woody Allen TSSB CMA ING Customers Affiliate HSBC Rationale Affinity Fraud Check Dementia Wine Circuit Court Article V Puts Hurry Johnny Burris Bloomberg Trade Secrets Appointments Clause Phishing Day Trading Federal Reserve Morgan Stanely Standing Testing Passcode Information High Frequency Trading Service Churning AAA Irreparable Harm 1Cir NDCA Eligibility Saad FINRA AWC OCIE White Self Regulatory Organization BrokeAndBroke Over Concentration 401k Beneficiaries Finder\'s Fee David Sobel Form ADV Disability Administrative Remedies Nietzsche EDNY CDO Kon Death Sexual Harassment Ethereum Hugh Hewitt Conflict of Interest Hester Peirce JPMS Joint Account Marines FMLA Third Party Vendor McDuff IM Deferred Compensation Casino Outside Account Wanger PAQ Accounting Chase Investment Services Vietnam Ride the Thunder Failure To Supervise Spoliation Trader Written Supervisory Procedures Absolute Immunity Corzine Subpoena Marine Corps Poteroba Bid Rigging 10b-5 Sarbanes Oxley DNJ AXA Talman Harris Lincoln Financial Google Aguilar Rule 9554 Marketplace TCR NPR Consent Order Gensler fraud 6th Circuit Rule 3310 Negligence Mutual Fund Sharemaster Moon Government Accountability Project Test Center Whitman Obstruction Motion to Compel Argentina Leggett Online Guitron Yesenia Guitron Chief Compliance Officer Penson Star Wars Teleconference ACH signature Smith Barney Side Bar money laundering Probate Unauthorized Practice of Law Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Relevant Disciplinary History Statement of Corrective Action Medical Condition Commodities Fraud 6Cir Attorneys Fees ICO Honorarium supervision Finra Stipulated Award Amazon Laptop Congress Layering Rule 3030 Vault Hearing Parking Constitution Rule 12212 elderly FINRA Small Firm Puerto Rico Bonds Meals Christian Stanley Fifth Amendment Arrest Resignation Pruco Taft Correctional Institution Acosta Inside Information Expert Witness Money Market BrokerAndBroker.com Kiting Microcap CGMI Arbitration Hotel Outside Counsel Subject Matter Jurisdiction Gamification State Actor Oral Discretion Attorneys\' Fees Verbal Discretion Privilege WaMu Annual Audit Rory Flynn Do Not Call Permanent Bar Commodities Rule 2430 Confirmation Capital Gains Rule 21F Rule 2370 Scottsdale Crime 17a-5 Title VII RRBDlaw Son Password Obama NYG Capital Chase Bank Libel Settling Away Florida ESOP For Cause 10b-10 Timban Texting Fowler Motion Johnson Fee Regulation Chiasson 11th Circuit Series 79 First Amendment wrongful termination mail fraud Schneiderman Electronic Communications Rule 9216 wire fraud FCI FCI Beaumont Gross Self Reporting CD TIC Fines OWWP Wires SIFMA GameStop FAP Book of Business Respondeat Superior Rule 1031 Risk Reverse Life Insurance Offset Pension Fine Dell DMD Disciplinary History Life Insurance FOCUS Non Solicit Rule 13504 Relevant 5Cir BATS Inmate LLC Self Directed Thain Cold Spring Advisory Group Civil Rights Withdrawals Daughter Extortion Default S&P Selling Away Falsification Turnover Client Information Copyright Elles 40 Act Hospital Reform Stop Loss Backstage Wall Street BrokeAndbroker Judgment Department of Justice Reuters Investor Alert Tax Fraud Data Regulation S-P Control Person Revocation Moore Netschi David Lerner Trading Elder Law Escrow VXX Jennifer Tarr Red Flags Preliminary Injunction NRF SP Chevron Restitution Commissioner Stein Excessive Trading Stockbroker Blank Forms Investment Adviser SD Ethics Outside Accounts YouTube Sexual Discrimination Newport Coast Securities Fiduciary Duty NY Life Prudential 401(k) RICO Counterfeit Scholander Equity Indexed Annuities Female Guest Bloggers FCPA Cantor Fitzgerald Slander Work Product Excel Retroactive Bar Frivolous Notice RRBDLAW No Show Liu Jay Clayton Kennedy Silver Sears NYLIFE MBS Examinations Dylan SEC Rules of Practice Exception Reports College Trainee Fee Retroactive Nasdaq Lek Advisor Placement Group Conflicts Purshe Kaplan Evidence Goble Vungarala Collateral Bar Jury Instructions Schottenstein Lee Alcoholism God Undertaking Turbeville Rule 21F-17 Section 206 Motiion to Acquit securities fraud Bartko Dostoevsky Mattera NRSRO Deceased Customer Hayden Merrill Production Eric Stein Laser Production Bonus Anderson Municipal Advisor Romer Diamonds Game of Thrones CMO Cryptocurrencies NML Leveraged ETFs Collateral Burden of Proof Branch Manager Vaccarelli Transitional Bonus Mail Section 1332 In House Counsel Theft Merill Lynch BBVA ALJ Foelak Impersonator Allstate McCartney Fourth Amendment Forfeiture Coin Gabelli Ten Commandments EB-5 Springsteen Prime Bank Stock Promotion Motion To Dismiss BitTorrent Wages DWI Binary Options In Connection With Khan Subway Swaps FDA Hackers Proctor Led Zeppelin Currency Preet Bharara Jon Corzine Molchatsky Financial Disclosure Obamacare Initials Harassment Last Known Address Mantar Checking House Financial Services Training Racial Discrimination Disparate Treatment Series 66 CAT Life Settlement Customer Files Well Managed Portfolio Broy Texas State Securities Board Summary Judgment bank Practice Sale Flash Drive BIll Singer Blackbook Father Exhaustion Doctrine Wells Fargo Advisors Non-Solicit Dinner FINRA Foundation Bill Singer BrokeAndBroker State Farm FINRA Eligibility Rule Undercover Twitter MDLA Gifts Pacifico Non-Prosecution Agreement FNI Media UIT Transfer Martoma Janney Montgomery Scott Women Merger Covid-19 Short Sale SDOH Oilpro Kent Compromise Zoom QuadrigaCX Compliance Officer Fiero Mary Jo White Lexicon Wire Transfers Ecuador Cherry Picking Expense Allocation National Securities sexism expenses iPhone Promoter Supervisor reimbursement Vacate Capitalism Costa Rica Panama Non Compete Solomon FTC Rule 420 Quasi Governmental Fundacion Nicor Nicolas Corcione Reasonable ADR Kenneth Starr Clearing Firm BrokeandBroker.com Personal Information Exotic ETF Mary Schapiro EEOC ACT! Koval ALJ Grimes ETFs Willfull Tysk Altered NPI Rule 3210 Skimming Naskovets Back Dated Boyland Rule 13904 Tennis Court South Park Gnomes Guardianship Bequest At Will ESG whistleblower Stephen A. Kohn Margin Calls 8210 ADEA Age Discrimination Fraudulent Inducement Compliance Questionnaire Cybercrime Securities and Exchange Commission Executrix Retired Woman With Cane Altered Records Dissident Tippee Tipper Cybersecurity Varney Beatles AI GAP Rule 12511 Lewis Carroll Third Party Beneficiary HBO Municipal Bonds MSPB Income JAMS Deferred Prosecution Agreement Baby Boomers Bribe William Faulkner Bill singer Tran Traders Public Arbitrator Guardian Punitive Countrywide Rule 2330 DDC Motion to Postpone Constructive Discharge SIPC Sharing Agreement false statements AIG Books and Records Hertz Investacorp Orders Wang Daspin 1099 Newbridge Berthel Fisher Office of Special Counsel Bob Dylan Superior Court Court of Appeal Liquidation Grievance Sterne Agee Disney Confidential Customer Information Res Judicata Clayton Principal Criminal JPMorgan Chase Witness Tampering Extraordinary Circumstances Voya Penalty Diabetes Dow Securities America Unauthorized Trades Spam Salman Espionage Schumer Pershing IBM SDCA Harris Stipulation Walter Joint Production Murray NFA Bank Guarantee Mistake Citibank Patriot Act 9th Circuit Nationwide Bank Secrecy Act FinCEN Martin Galleon Rule 144 Kierkegaard GME Law School Malice Books And Records PHC Scam Bezos Elon Musk Reverse Merger Tax Advice AWC. FINRA Audit Committee Preliminary Determination Travel PSRO Tesla Reason for Termination Payroll Sex Brokeandbroker.com Ruder Task Force US Airways Transamerica Apartment Hurtado Press Release Banks Powell Investment Advisers Act Arbitrability Hearsay DPA Rule 12104 Particularity Rule 13104 Rules of Practice Arbitrator EDPA Credit Repair Legend Statute of Limitation Cellphone