Barry Lee Garapedian, of Westlake Village, California, a stockbroker formerly registered with Morgan Stanley, is referenced in a customer initiated investment related FINRA securities arbitration claim in which the customer requested $1,414,268.49 in damages supported by accusations of unsuitable exchange-traded funds and variable annuity transactions in the customer’s account when Garapedian was registered with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Arbitration No. 21-01979 (August 4, 2021).
Garapedian has been identified in fifteen more customer initiated investment related disputes concerning allegations of his harmful activities during the period that he was employed by Salomon Smith Barney, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., and Morgan Stanley. FINRA Public Disclosure shows that a customer initiated investment related NASD arbitration claim regarding Garapedian’s conduct was settled for $42,000.00 in damages founded on accusations of fraud, failure to supervise, negligence, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty relating to stock trading by Garapedian at Salomon Smith Barney.
Another customer filed an investment related complaint concerning Garapedian’s activities where the customer requested $444,000.00 in damages based upon allegations of unsuitable investment recommendations by Garapedian regarding unit investment trust products while Garapedian was employed by Morgan Stanley.
Garapedian is also the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint on October 5, 2017, in which the customer sought compensatory damages founded on accusations of unsuitable variable annuity and exchange-traded fund purchases for the customer between 2016 and 2017 at Morgan Stanley.
On March 20, 2018, a different customer filed an investment related complaint involving Garapedian’s conduct where the customer requested $106,178.00 in damages based upon allegations of unsuitable stock and closed-end fund trading by Garapedian between March of 2013 and December of 2017 during the time that he was associated with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.
Garapedian is also identified in a customer initiated investment related written complaint that was resolved for $110,000.00 on November 15, 2018, founded on accusations of unsuitable trading, as the customer’s account had been overconcentrated in closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds, and stocks. The complaint alleges that the customer was charged excessive fees.
Another customer initiated investment related arbitration claim regarding Garapedian’s activities was settled for $170,000.00 in damages supported by allegations of bad advice by Garapedian regarding closed-end funds, unit investment trusts, and exchange-traded funds when Garapedian was registered with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. FINRA Arbitration No. 18-01057 (July 22, 2019).
Garapedian is additionally the subject of a customer initiated investment related written complaint on February 26, 2021, in which the customer sought compensatory damages founded on accusations of them being misled about the source of distributions from their account at Morgan Stanley.
Garapedian was permitted to resign by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney on January 31, 2021, based upon allegations of Garapedian engaging in unauthorized activities relating to securities transactions.
