Austin Wayne Morton of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, a stockbroker formerly registered with Edward Jones, was charged by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Department of Enforcement in a Complaint which alleged that Morton converted a senior customer’s funds. Department of Enforcement v. Austin Wayne Morton, No. 2016052347901 (Feb. 24, 2017).
According to the Complaint, in September of 2016, $20,000.00 in cash was obtained by Morton from Customer A, a former customer of Morton who suffered from dementia and was eighty-two years old. Apparently, the funds were withdrawn by the customer in Morton’s presence from the customer’s bank account.
Subsequently, in October of 2016, Morton and the customer entered an agreement for Morton to borrow $6,000.00 in funds for purposes of covering medical expenses which did not factually exist. After the agreement was made, a signed check belonging to the customer was taken by Morton and written out for $22,000.00. In effect, the Complaint alleged that Morton converted a total of $16,000.00 from the customer. Morton’s conduct was alleged by FINRA to be violative of FINRA Rule 2010.
The Complaint further stated that Morton engaged in an outside business activity which had not been disclosed to his firm. Particularly, $2,000.00 was allegedly provided from a customer to Morton in return for Morton’s handling of a customer’s liquidation of an annuity contract held at an outside institution, in which the proceeds were transferred to an institution outside the firm’s auspices. The Complaint stated that Morton’s conduct in this regard was violative of FINRA Rule 2010 and 3270.
FINRA Public Disclosure reveals that on November 8, 2016, a customer filed an investment related written complaint involving Morton’s conduct, in which the customer requested $22,000.00 in damages based upon allegations pertaining to Morton’s October 2016 borrowing arrangements involving the customer’s funds. On November 18, 2016, Morton was terminated from Edward Jones based on allegations that he engaged in a loan arrangement with the aforementioned elderly customer.
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