William Roy Kimberlin, of Dallas, Texas, a stockbroker formerly registered with Metlife Securities Inc., has been fined $15,000.00 and suspended for eighteen months from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity based upon consenting to findings that he borrowed from customers without authorization, made misrepresentations to his firm, and participated in outside business activities that were not properly disclosed. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent, No. 2016049233701 (Aug. 31, 2017).
According to the AWC, two loans were consummated by Kimberlin with two of the firm’s customers despite the firm’s policies and procedures proscribing the conduct. Particularly, policies that the firm implemented by September of 2013 stated that no funds could be borrowed by any of the firm’s registered representatives when the loan arrangement involved a customer of the firm. Yet, a seventy-one-year-old customer, SW, was approached by Kimberlin in October of 2013 for purposes of lending Kimberlin $20,000.00.
The AWC revealed that SW was told by Kimberlin that her monies would be utilized for making real estate investments, and that the investments were to be funded by Kimberlin with money that SW withdrew from her existing annuity. As a result of the withdrawal, surrender penalties of $4,400.00 in addition to tax penalties were incurred by the customer. Apparently, the customer and Kimberlin reduced their agreement to a loan document with terms of a two-year repayment with an interest payment that ranged from five percent to as high as twenty percent according to the time that funds were repaid.
The AWC also referenced that another elderly customer, VI, provided Kimberlin with $10,000.00 for purposes of financing a real estate investment. Kimberlin evidently contracted with the customer for funds to be repaid in six months at a range of twenty percent interest. Then, Kimberlin reportedly took funds received from SW and VI to pay off his credit cards, and has since failed to repay the customers. FINRA found that Kimberlin’s conduct in that regard was violative of FINRA Rules 2010 and 3240.
Further, the AWC revealed that Kimberlin confirmed with his firm via an October 2013 annual compliance certification that he would at no point borrow securities or money from customers, and that he never entered into unauthorized loan arrangements in the past. FINRA found that Kimberlin misrepresented his certification given his previous borrowing arrangements; conduct violative of FINRA Rule 2010.
Kimberlin also evidently failed to provide his firm with disclosure of two outside business activities. Specifically, a limited liability company, Kimberlin N Vest RS LLC, was founded by Kimberlin in November of 2013, where he participated in this business through his termination in 2016. Yet, he failed to notify his firm about this business. Moreover, Kimberlin failed to notify his firm about sports officiating business activities that he engaged in. As a result, FINRA found Kimberlin’s conduct violative of NASD Rules 3030 and 2110, as well as FINRA Rules 2010 and 3270.
Kimberlin was fired by MetLife on February 24, 2016, based upon allegations that he failed to abide by the firm’s policies concerning customer and representative loan arrangements.
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