Richard Alan Shotz of Daytona Beach Florida a stockbroker formerly employed by Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC is the subject of an Order issued by the State of Maryland Securities Division revoking Shotz’s securities registration in the state based upon Shotz’s failure to respond to an Order To Show Cause relating to Shotz’s fine and suspension from Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for making unsuitable recommendations. Case No. 2018-0055 (Mar. 1, 2018).
Particularly, FINRA Public Disclosure reveals that Shotz has been fined $7,500.00 and suspended from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity based upon consenting to findings that Shotz gave customers bad advice about unit investment trust trades. Letter of Acceptance Waiver and Consent No. 2015048039501 (Jan. 16, 2018).
According to the AWC, Shotz executed an investment strategy which entailed trading unit investment trusts in four hundred eighty-six customer accounts on a short-term basis. Evidently, customers were advised by Shotz to sell their positions prematurely. Apparently, most of those unit investment trusts contained two year maturities and sales charges from 1.95 percent to 3.95 percent. The AWC stated that unit investment trusts investments were held for about five months on average in the affected customers’ accounts. Moreover, Shotz reportedly advised customers nearly twelve hundred times to apply proceeds from premature unit investment trust sales towards purchases of other unit investment trusts containing the same objectives for investing. FINRA found Shotz’s unsuitable investment recommendations, which caused customers to experience unwarranted sales charges, to be violative of FINRA Rules 2010 and 2111 as well as National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Rule 2310.
Moreover, Shotz is referenced in a customer initiated investment related complaint on January 22, 2018 in which the customer sought unspecified damages based upon accusations that while Shotz was associated with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Shotz made false or misleading statements to the customer concerning exchange traded funds and equities purchased for the customer’s accounts.
Shotz was discharged by Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC on February 26, 2018 based upon the allegations underlying FINRA’s disciplinary action against Shotz.
