Austin Morton Named Respondent In FINRA Complaint
On February 24, 2017, Austin Morton (CRD #5538108, Spiro, Oklahoma) was named a respondent in a FINRA complaint alleging that he converted a total of $36,000 from a former elderly customer with dementia.
The complaint alleges that Austin Morton first took $20,000 in cash from the customer shortly after the customer, accompanied by Morton, had withdrawn the cash from his bank account. The customer then agreed to loan Austin Morton $6,000 for medical expenses that were never incurred. In accepting the loan, Morton took a signed but otherwise blank check from the customer and made the check out for $22,000 instead of the agreed-upon $6,000, thus converting $16,000 the customer had not authorized. The complaint also alleges that Morton engaged in an undisclosed outside business activity. Without providing his member firm with prior written notice, he accepted $2,000 in cash from the customer as compensation for assisting the customer with locating and surrendering an annuity he held at another firm.
Issuance of a disciplinary complaint represents FINRA’s initiation of a formal proceeding in which findings as to the allegations in the complaint have not been made, and does not represent a decision as to any of the allegations contained in the complaint. Because these complaints are unadjudicated, you may wish to contact the respondents before drawing any conclusions regarding the allegations in the complaint.
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.
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