Kevin Joseph Carroll of Glastonbury, Connecticut, a stockbroker formerly registered with LPL Financial LLC, has been fined $10,000.00 and suspended for four months from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member because he borrowed a customer’s funds and engaged in unauthorized trading in unit investment trusts during the time that he was associated with LPL Financial LLC. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2021072363201 (Sept. 5, 2023).
According to the AWC, In July of 2021, Carroll borrowed $31,170.00 from a customer of LPL Financial. According to LPL Financial’s written supervision procedures, borrowing customer funds is not permitted without prior written authorization from the firm.
Carroll informed his supervisor in June 2021 that he planned to borrow a friend’s money and that the individual was also an LPL Financial customer. The supervisor refused to allow it. Despite the warning, Carroll proceeded to borrow the funds in July, documenting the loan with a promissory note. FINRA stated that Carroll did not make any payments against this loan. Therefore, Carroll violated FINRA Rules 2010 and 3240.
The second violation occurred between March of 2021 and July of 2021. During this period, Carroll exercised discretion without obtaining written approval in the accounts of two elderly customers. He executed at least seven transactions involving unit investment trusts (UITs), generally using proceeds from matured products to purchase new UITs. The customers did not provide written approval for Carroll to make these discretionary transactions in their accounts, and LPL Financial had not designated those accounts as discretionary accounts. Therefore, he violated FINRA Rules 3260(b) and 2010.
Carroll was associated with LPL Financial as a stockbroker between February 15, 2019, and August 20, 2021. He was discharged based upon allegations of unauthorized trading resulting in customer complaints. Between September 13, 2021, and March 30, 2022, Carroll was associated with Buell Securities Corp.
