Steven Martin Barnett of Jacksonville, Florida, a stockbroker formerly registered with LPL Financial LLC, has been fined $5,000.00 and suspended for 30 days from associating with any Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member in any capacity founded on findings that Barnett mismarked customer order tickets while he was employed by LPL Financial. Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent No. 2020066817601 (March 16, 2022).
According to the AWC, from March 22, 2018, to May 19, 2020, 74 mutual fund order tickets had been mismarked by Barnett. The regulator states that Barnett marked those mutual fund trades as “unsolicited,” meaning he did not recommend them, but it was the customer’s idea, when in fact the trades had been actively solicited by him as part of his recommendations to customers. FINRA states that Barnett caused the records and books of LPL Financial to be inaccurate as they pertained to his trades. He violated FINRA Rules 2010 and 4511.
FINRA Public Disclosure additionally shows that on June 27, 2016, a customer initiated investment related complaint involving Barnett’s activities was resolved for $5,000.00 in damages supported by allegations of Barnett’s deception in regard to the customer’s investment in a limited partnership during the time that Barnett was associated with Sigma Financial Corporation.
Barnett was registered with Invest Financial Corporation between June 4, 2010, and February 14, 2018, and LPL Financial between February 14, 2018, and June 2, 2020.
